In Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Mille Lacs County, 17.7% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mille Lacs County's score
In Mille Lacs County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 65.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 18.0. People with a credit card behind: 3.1%, August 2025, lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mille Lacs 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, Mille Lacs County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (7.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (237, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202696th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.0% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 53.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.6% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people237 · 202583rd percentile
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- 39.9 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 rent19.9% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.7% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
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- 29.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.9% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,062 · 202427th percentile
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- 18.0 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 behind3.0% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.6% · second quarter of 202627th 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 Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mille Lacs County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mille Lacs County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Mille Lacs County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 11.0%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 8.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.
How Mille Lacs County has changed
Mille Lacs County's population doubled to 27,577, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 24,716. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Mille Lacs County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 9,490, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 9,718 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.9% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,034 | 2024 $76,062 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 7.0% 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 Mille Lacs County's history
1857
Created May 23, 1857. Wikipedia
1955
A tornado in September 1955 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 26,459, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mille Lacs County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mille Lacs County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Mille Lacs County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mille Lacs County ranks 2nd of the eight; Aitkin County is highest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aitkin County, MN | 37 | 13.9% | 37.1% |
| Isanti County, MN | 36 | 7.2% | 23.2% |
| Kanabec County, MN | 36 | 11.0% | 30.9% |
| Mille Lacs County, MN | 35 | 10.8% | 31.1% |
| Benton County, MN | 29 | 9.5% | 21.7% |
| Crow Wing County, MN | 28 | 10.8% | 29.1% |
| Sherburne County, MN | 15 | 5.9% | 17.4% |
| Morrison County, MN | 15 | 11.5% | 29.6% |
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 Mille Lacs County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Mille Lacs County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 34th 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, Mille Lacs County ranks 14th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.