About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Pope County, Minnesota, have a job
In Pope County, 10.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pope County's score
In Pope County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 54.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 11.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 1.5%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pope 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, Pope County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (30.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.2 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent30.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th percentile
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- 36.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202667th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 29.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.4% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people131.6 · 202552nd percentile
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- 15.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.5% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance3.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,823 · 202425th percentile
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- 11.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score23.2% · second quarter of 20265th or lower 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 Pope 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 Pope County, 25.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pope County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pope County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Pope County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pope County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.7% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2016.
The share of households in Pope County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 7.1%
Low on the chart: 4.7% 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, Pope County, Minnesota.
How Pope County has changed
Pope County's population fell most sharply on the way to its 1989 low, from 11,401 in 1984 to 10,722 in 1989.
Pope County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 11,665 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pope County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pope County nearly doubled to 4,400, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 4,292. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pope County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,152 | 2024 $76,823 |
The table uses 4.0% 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 Pope County's history
1915
Pope County dry county from organization until 1965. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 13,631. The 2020 Census counted 11,308, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A thunderstorm in August 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A thunderstorm in June 2013 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pope County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pope County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Pope County, two score higher. Of the group, Pope County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (25.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift County, MN | 44 | 13.2% | 23.4% |
| Stearns County, MN | 28 | 11.7% | 20.0% |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | 16 | 8.9% | 23.0% |
| Pope County, MN | 16 | 8.6% | 25.4% |
| Stevens County, MN | 6 | 10.9% | 20.9% |
| Douglas County, MN | 4 | 9.3% | 23.6% |
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 Pope County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Pope County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 66th 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, Pope County ranks 54th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pope 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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Justice North
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.
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 Pope County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.