About one in 12 people with a credit file in Meeker County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Meeker County, 8.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Meeker County's score
In Meeker County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 53.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 15.2. People with a credit card behind: 2.7%, August 2025, lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Meeker 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, Meeker County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (25.3%, 2020 to 2024) and 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.
- 53.6 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 working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 51.8 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 rent25.3% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202716th percentile
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- 36.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.3% · August 20251st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people187.3 · 202571st percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.3% · 202417th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.9% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,367 · 202428th percentile
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- 15.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.6% · second quarter of 202618th 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 Meeker 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 Meeker County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Meeker County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Meeker County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Meeker County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Meeker County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 8.0% in 2019 to 6.6% in 2020; 7.0% in 2023 to 8.4% in 2024.
The share of households in Meeker County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.4%
High on the chart: 8.6% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Meeker County, Minnesota.
How Meeker County has changed
Meeker County's population rose by about a quarter to 23,491, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 20,202. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Meeker County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Meeker County rose by about a quarter to 7,838, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 7,838 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Meeker County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 9.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,556 | 2024 $75,367 |
The table uses 4.7% 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 Meeker County's history
2001
A thunderstorm in June 2001 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 23,400, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Meeker County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Meeker County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Meeker County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Meeker County ranks 2nd of the six; Renville County is highest, at 26.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stearns County, MN | 28 | 11.7% | 20.0% |
| Renville County, MN | 25 | 10.8% | 26.1% |
| Meeker County, MN | 25 | 9.3% | 25.3% |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | 16 | 8.9% | 23.0% |
| McLeod County, MN | 16 | 8.0% | 23.2% |
| Wright County, MN | 12 | 6.2% | 14.9% |
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 Meeker County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Meeker County's poverty rate was 9.3% in 2024, 56th 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, Meeker County ranks 28th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Meeker 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 Meeker 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 Meeker County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.