About one in 12 people with a credit file in Stevens County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Stevens County, 8.0% 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 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stevens County's score
In Stevens County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 42.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.0. People with a credit card behind: 1.7%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stevens 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.
Stevens 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.
- 42.8 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 rent22.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.9% · fiscal year 202712th percentile
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- 34.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202629th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.0% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
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- 22.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.9% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.7% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,103 · 202432nd percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people30.8 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.3% · second quarter of 20265th or lower 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 Stevens 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 Stevens County, 16.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stevens County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Stevens County had its largest rise, from 15.0% in 2014 to 19.7% in 2019.
In Stevens County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Stevens County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stevens County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.1% in 2020 to 10.0% in 2021.
The share of households in Stevens County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 9.8%
Low on the chart: 5.6% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stevens County, Minnesota.
How Stevens County has changed
Stevens County's population had its largest drop, from 10,198 in 1999 to 9,857 in 2004.
Stevens County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 11,155 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stevens County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Stevens County nearly doubled to 5,774, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 4,669. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stevens County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 10.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,282 | 2024 $73,103 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Stevens County's history
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 11,322. The 2020 Census counted 9,671, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in July 2023 did $5,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stevens County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stevens County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Stevens County score higher than it does. Of the group, Stevens County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Big Stone County gets the largest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift County, MN | 44 | 13.2% | 23.4% |
| Grant County, MN | 26 | 9.8% | 29.2% |
| Traverse County, MN | 20 | 13.1% | 25.6% |
| Big Stone County, MN | 20 | 12.3% | 29.3% |
| Pope County, MN | 16 | 8.6% | 25.4% |
| Stevens County, MN | 6 | 10.9% | 20.9% |
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 Stevens County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Stevens County's poverty rate was 10.9% in 2024, 33rd 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, Stevens County ranks 80th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stevens 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 Stevens 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 Stevens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.