About one in eight people with a credit file in Nobles County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Nobles County, 12.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nobles County's score
In Nobles County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 43.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 21.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nobles 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, Nobles County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (12.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 43.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.3% · 202450th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.9% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance12.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,123 · 202440th percentile
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- 38.7 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 rent18.4% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th percentile
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- 38.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 36.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.3% · second quarter of 202634th percentile
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- 21.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.9% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people92.1 · 202531st 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 Nobles 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 Nobles County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nobles County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Nobles County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Nobles County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nobles County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.1% in 2019 to 8.2% in 2020.
The share of households in Nobles County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.2% 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, Nobles County, Minnesota.
How Nobles County has changed
Nobles County's population had its largest drop, from 21,305 in 1984 to 20,176 in 1989.
Nobles County's population fell 6% from 1969 to 2024, with its low point on the chart in 1989
Low on the chart: 20,176 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nobles County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Nobles County rose 11% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 10,270 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nobles County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.5% | 2024 13.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,847 | 2024 $70,123 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Nobles County's history
1857
Created May 23, 1857 (created) October 27, 1870 (organized). Wikipedia
1873
Grasshopper invasions disrupted crop cycles. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 23,365. The 2020 Census counted 22,290, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A tornado in April 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A thunderstorm in August 2004 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
ICE raid at Swift & Company meat packing plant. Wikipedia
2024
A flood in June 2024 did $3.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nobles County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nobles County beside its neighbors
Nobles County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Minnesota and Iowa. For the share of income from benefit checks, Nobles County ranks 5th of the seven; Cottonwood County is highest, at 29.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nobles County, MN | 25 | 13.3% | 20.8% |
| Cottonwood County, MN | 16 | 11.7% | 29.5% |
| Osceola County, IA | 8 | 11.1% | 19.9% |
| Jackson County, MN | 7 | 9.4% | 23.6% |
| Murray County, MN | 7 | 10.2% | 24.7% |
| Rock County, MN | 4 | 8.9% | 23.7% |
| Lyon County, IA | 0 | 7.3% | 14.6% |
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 Nobles County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Nobles County's poverty rate was 13.3% in 2024, 9th 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, Nobles County ranks 30th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nobles 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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Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
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 Nobles 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 Nobles County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.