About one in seven people with a credit file in Redwood County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Redwood County, 14.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Redwood County's score
In Redwood County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 55.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 17.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 65.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Redwood 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.
Redwood 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.
- 55.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.6% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 48.3 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 rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th percentile
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- 32.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.1% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,279 · 202451st percentile
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- 21.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.8% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
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- 17.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.6% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people65.4 · 202517th 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 Redwood 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 Redwood County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Redwood County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Redwood County had its largest rise, from 10.1% in 1974 to 13.1% in 1979.
In Redwood County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 19.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Redwood County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Redwood County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.0% in 2011 to 6.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Redwood County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Redwood County, Minnesota.
How Redwood County has changed
Redwood County's population fell by about a quarter to 15,254, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 17,603. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Redwood County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Redwood County rose most sharply from its first year (5,069 in 1990) to 6,635 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Redwood County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 7,163 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Redwood County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,894 | 2024 $66,279 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Redwood County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 22,290. The 2020 Census counted 15,425, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
1958
A tornado in August 1958 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1968
A tornado in June 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1981
A tornado in June 1981 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in September 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Redwood County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Redwood County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Redwood County, one scores higher. Of the group, Redwood County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Cottonwood County gets the largest, at 29.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renville County, MN | 25 | 10.8% | 26.1% |
| Redwood County, MN | 24 | 11.0% | 19.6% |
| Lyon County, MN | 16 | 11.1% | 23.4% |
| Cottonwood County, MN | 16 | 11.7% | 29.5% |
| Brown County, MN | 14 | 9.6% | 25.0% |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 10 | 9.8% | 24.4% |
| Murray County, MN | 7 | 10.2% | 24.7% |
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 Redwood County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Redwood County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 30th 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, Redwood County ranks 33rd of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Redwood 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 Redwood 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 Redwood County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.