About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, have a job
In Lake of the Woods County, 8.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lake of the Woods County's score
In Lake of the Woods County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 47.7. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.2. About three in ten people (28.0%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lake of the Woods County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Lake of the Woods County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 47.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working8.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
-
- 32.0 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent11.8% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
-
- 23.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.3% · 202424th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.1% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability13.4% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- People without health insurance3.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,245 · 202445th percentile
-
- 22.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.4% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people105.9 · 202539th percentile
-
- 10.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.0% · second quarter of 20268th percentile
-
Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Lake of the Woods County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Lake of the Woods County, 26.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lake of the Woods County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lake of the Woods County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lake of the Woods County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 1.2% in 2010 to 4.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Lake of the Woods County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 3.0%
Low on the chart: 0.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
How Lake of the Woods County has changed
Lake of the Woods County's population had its largest drop, from 4,401 in 2004 to 4,043 in 2009.
Lake of the Woods County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 4,557 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Lake of the Woods County had its largest rise, from 1,225 in 1990 to 1,424 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Lake of the Woods County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2020, reaching 1,594, then turned down in 2025
High on the chart: 1,594 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.1% | 2024 10.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,583 | 2024 $68,245 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.8% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Lake of the Woods County's history
1910
Baudette fire of 1910 destroyed multiple towns. Wikipedia
1922
November 28, 1922 (created by vote) January 1, 1923 (organized). Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 5,975. The 2020 Census counted 3,763, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1965
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lake of the Woods County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lake of the Woods County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Lake of the Woods County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lake of the Woods County ranks 3rd of the four; Koochiching County is highest, at 36.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beltrami County, MN | 54 | 17.3% | 31.1% |
| Koochiching County, MN | 27 | 13.4% | 36.6% |
| Lake of the Woods County, MN | 13 | 10.3% | 30.5% |
| Roseau County, MN | 9 | 8.8% | 22.9% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Lake of the Woods County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Lake of the Woods County's poverty rate was 10.3% in 2024, 44th highest of 87 in Minnesota (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Beltrami County, at 17.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Lake of the Woods County ranks 61st of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lake of the Woods County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
-
Justice North
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Lake of the Woods County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Lake of the Woods County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.