About one in nine people in Stearns County, Minnesota, has a disability
In Stearns County, 11.7% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stearns County's score
In Stearns County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 62.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 16.5. About three in ten people (27.8%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stearns 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, Stearns County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (26.4%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (213.7, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.5 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 rent26.4% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th percentile
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- 45.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.2% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people213.7 · 202577th percentile
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- 41.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.2% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
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- 24.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.9% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,793 · 202425th percentile
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- 16.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.8% · second quarter of 20268th 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 Stearns 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 Stearns County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stearns County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Stearns County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Stearns County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stearns County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 4.4% in 2009 to 5.3% in 2010; 9.0% in 2021 to 9.9% in 2022.
The share of households in Stearns County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.5%
High on the chart: 9.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stearns County, Minnesota.
How Stearns County has changed
Stearns County's population had its largest rise, from 90,294 in 1969 to 101,142 in 1974.
Stearns County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 163,997, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 152,512. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stearns County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Stearns County rose by about half to 87,420, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 76,136. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stearns County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.1% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,554 | 2024 $76,793 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Stearns County's history
1953
A tornado in March 1953 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in September 1980 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in May 1998 did $3 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
Lightning in May 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 158,292, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stearns County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stearns County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Stearns County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stearns County ranks 8th of the 10; Morrison County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County, MN | 29 | 9.5% | 21.7% |
| Stearns County, MN | 28 | 11.7% | 20.0% |
| Meeker County, MN | 25 | 9.3% | 25.3% |
| Todd County, MN | 19 | 10.5% | 25.8% |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | 16 | 8.9% | 23.0% |
| Pope County, MN | 16 | 8.6% | 25.4% |
| Sherburne County, MN | 15 | 5.9% | 17.4% |
| Morrison County, MN | 15 | 11.5% | 29.6% |
| Wright County, MN | 12 | 6.2% | 14.9% |
| 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 Stearns County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Stearns County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 22nd 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, Stearns County ranks 20th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stearns 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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Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
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 Stearns 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 Stearns County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.