About one in seven people with a credit file in Lincoln County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lincoln County, 13.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 48.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 17.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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, Lincoln County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 48.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202683rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.6% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 33.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.3% · 202442nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,555 · 202447th percentile
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- 33.2 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 rent17.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st percentile
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- 18.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.2% · second quarter of 20266th percentile
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- 17.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.7% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people72.5 · 202520th percentile
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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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 24.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lincoln County had its largest rise, from 14.4% in 1979 to 19.6% in 1984.
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.4% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2016.
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 7.0%
Low on the chart: 2.2% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Minnesota.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population fell by about a third to 5,564, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 6,947. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County had its largest drop, from 1,681 in 2015 to 1,484 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County rose 13% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 1,776 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 12.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,323 | 2024 $67,555 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Lincoln County's history
1873
Act passed March 6, 1873, dividing Lyon County with western half to be named Lincoln. County voters approved in November 1873 election. Governor Horace Austin proclaimed county existence December 5, 1873, with Lake Benton as county seat. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 11,303. The 2020 Census counted 5,640, 50% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
A thunderstorm in July 1995 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Lincoln County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Minnesota and South Dakota. Of the group, Lincoln County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (28.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, MN | 17 | 12.3% | 28.0% |
| Pipestone County, MN | 16 | 10.0% | 21.2% |
| Lyon County, MN | 16 | 11.1% | 23.4% |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 10 | 9.8% | 24.4% |
| Brookings County, SD | 0 | 10.8% | 13.5% |
| Deuel County, SD | 0 | 8.6% | 16.3% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 20th 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, Lincoln County ranks 44th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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.
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Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
Legal aid
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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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.