About one in nine people with a credit file in Pipestone County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pipestone County, 10.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pipestone County's score
In Pipestone County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 51.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 8.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pipestone 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.
Pipestone County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.9% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
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- 42.9 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 rent21.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.2% · fiscal year 202714th percentile
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- 27.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.0% · 202417th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,885 · 202438th percentile
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- 19.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.3 · 202534th percentile
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- 8.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.0% · second quarter of 202615th 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 Pipestone 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 Pipestone County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pipestone County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pipestone County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Pipestone County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pipestone County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 2012 to 10.3% in 2013.
The share of households in Pipestone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 10.8%
Low on the chart: 5.0% 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, Pipestone County, Minnesota.
How Pipestone County has changed
Pipestone County's population fell 29% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 11,898. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pipestone County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pipestone County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,239, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 4,514 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pipestone County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.4% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,704 | 2024 $70,885 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Pipestone County's history
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 14,003. The 2020 Census counted 9,424, 67% of the peak. Census Bureau
1985
A tornado in April 1985 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A tornado in May 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pipestone County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pipestone County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Pipestone County, in Minnesota and South Dakota, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pipestone County ranks 5th of the six; Lincoln County is highest, at 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% |
| Moody County, SD | 14 | 10.1% | 15.9% |
| Murray County, MN | 7 | 10.2% | 24.7% |
| Rock County, MN | 4 | 8.9% | 23.7% |
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 Pipestone County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Pipestone County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 46th 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, Pipestone County ranks 48th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pipestone 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 Pipestone 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 Pipestone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.