About one in 12 people with a credit file in Red Lake County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Red Lake County, 8.5% 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 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Red Lake County's score
In Red Lake County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 50.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 14.1. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 16.9% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Red Lake 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, Red Lake County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 21.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people102.3 · 202537th percentile
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- 18.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.9% · second quarter of 202641st percentile
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- 17.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.1% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance2.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,158 · 202435th percentile
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- 14.1 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 rent11.2% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.9% · fiscal year 202712th 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 Red Lake 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 Red Lake County, 22.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Red Lake County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Red Lake County fell most sharply after its 1994 high, from 25.3% in 1994 to 20.0% in 1999.
In Red Lake County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 25.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Red Lake County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.1%; 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 Red Lake County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 6.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Red Lake County, Minnesota.
How Red Lake County has changed
Red Lake County's population fell by about a third to 3,882, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 4,617. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Red Lake County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Red Lake County had its largest drop, from 1,173 in 2010 to 1,031 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Red Lake County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 1,173 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Red Lake County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 15.2% | 2025 6.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 9.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,517 | 2024 $72,158 |
The table uses 6.4% for 2025; the score uses 6.7% 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 Red Lake County's history
1896
Created December 24, 1896. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 12,195. The 2020 Census counted 3,935, 32% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
A tornado in July 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Red Lake County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Red Lake County beside its neighbors
All two counties that border Red Lake County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Red Lake County ranks 2nd of the three; Polk County is highest, at 28.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennington County, MN | 17 | 10.7% | 22.4% |
| Polk County, MN | 16 | 13.2% | 28.3% |
| Red Lake County, MN | 9 | 9.1% | 25.1% |
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 Red Lake County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Red Lake County's poverty rate was 9.1% in 2024, 60th 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, Red Lake County ranks 73rd of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Red Lake 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.
Download the CSV for Red Lake 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 Red Lake County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.