About one in seven people with a credit file in St. Louis County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In St. Louis County, 13.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Louis County's score
In St. Louis County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 20.1. People with a credit card behind: 3.4%, August 2025, lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Louis 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, St. Louis County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (23.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.1 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 rent23.3% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd percentile
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- 56.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202683rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 32.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.8% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people126.7 · 202550th percentile
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- 32.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.6% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,200 · 202442nd percentile
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- 20.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.0% · second quarter of 202622nd 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 St. Louis 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 St. Louis County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
St. Louis County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Louis County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In St. Louis County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Louis County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 7.9% in 2010 to 10.1% in 2012, 1.1 points each year.
The share of households in St. Louis County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 10.2%
Low on the chart: 6.9% 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, St. Louis County, Minnesota.
How St. Louis County has changed
St. Louis County's population fell 11% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
High on the chart: 224,390 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Louis County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in St. Louis County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 95,078, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 97,163 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Louis County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,930 | 2024 $69,200 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 St. Louis County's history
1873
Jay Cooke's railroad empire and stock market crash of 1873. Wikipedia
1958
A tornado in July 1958 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 231,588. The 2020 Census counted 200,231, 86% of the peak. Census Bureau
1969
A tornado in August 1969 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Hail in August 1998 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Lightning in August 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Louis County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Louis County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border St. Louis County, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, three score higher. Of the group, St. Louis County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Aitkin County gets the largest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, MN | 38 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| Itasca County, MN | 37 | 11.0% | 33.2% |
| Aitkin County, MN | 37 | 13.9% | 37.1% |
| St. Louis County, MN | 35 | 12.7% | 27.5% |
| Carlton County, MN | 28 | 11.2% | 29.9% |
| Koochiching County, MN | 27 | 13.4% | 36.6% |
| Douglas County, WI | 26 | 11.9% | 28.0% |
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 St. Louis County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, St. Louis County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 16th 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, St. Louis County ranks 13th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Louis 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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Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 St. Louis 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 St. Louis County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.