About one in nine people with a credit file in Roseau County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Roseau 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 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Roseau County's score
In Roseau County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 35.3. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 14.2. About one in 24 people (4.1%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Roseau 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.
Roseau 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.
- 35.3 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 working13.3% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
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- 27.1 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 people124.6 · 202549th percentile
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- 25.2 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 rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.9% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 19.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.5% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 14.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.4% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability11.4% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,342 · 202426th 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 Roseau 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 Roseau County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Roseau County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Roseau County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 22.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Roseau County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Roseau County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.9% in 2010 to 5.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Roseau County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 3.1% 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, Roseau County, Minnesota.
How Roseau County has changed
Roseau County's population rose 29% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 16,389 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Roseau County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Roseau County rose most sharply from its first year (7,211 in 1990) to 8,483 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Roseau County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 9,505 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Roseau County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.7% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,633 | 2024 $76,342 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Roseau County's history
1965
Roseau County was a dry county until 1965. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 16,338. The 2020 Census counted 15,331, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2006
A flood in April 2006 did $1.32 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in August 2006 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Roseau County, 22 of them for flooding. FEMA
Roseau County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Roseau County, two score higher. Of the group, Roseau County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Beltrami County gets the largest, at 31.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beltrami County, MN | 54 | 17.3% | 31.1% |
| Lake of the Woods County, MN | 13 | 10.3% | 30.5% |
| Roseau County, MN | 9 | 8.8% | 22.9% |
| Marshall County, MN | 7 | 9.0% | 25.5% |
| Kittson County, MN | 6 | 10.0% | 29.8% |
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 Roseau County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Roseau County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 65th 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, Roseau County ranks 74th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Roseau 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 Roseau 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 Roseau County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.