About one in eight people with a credit file in Swift County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Swift County, 13.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Swift County's score
In Swift County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 18.0. People with a credit card behind: 3.2%, August 2025, lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Swift 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, Swift County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (25.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202691st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.3% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
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- 57.8 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 rent25.7% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.5% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability19.0% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,656 · 202453rd percentile
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- 34.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.1% · August 202511th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people144 · 202557th percentile
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- 18.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.3% · second quarter of 202617th 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 Swift 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 Swift County, 23.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Swift County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Swift County had its largest rise, from 21.0% in 2004 to 26.6% in 2009.
In Swift County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Swift County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Swift County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.8% in 2011 to 7.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Swift County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 12.3%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 5.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Swift County, Minnesota.
How Swift County has changed
Swift County's population fell by about a third to 9,666, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 10,880. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Swift County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Swift County rose most sharply from its first year (2,905 in 1990) to 3,714 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Swift County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 4,198 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Swift County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.9% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,695 | 2024 $65,656 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.9% 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 Swift County's history
1872
1872 smallpox epidemic in Benson. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 15,837. The 2020 Census counted 9,838, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
1952
A tornado in June 1952 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in June 2001 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in September 2017 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Swift County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Swift County beside its neighbors
Swift County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Swift County ranks 5th of the seven; Big Stone County is highest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift County, MN | 44 | 13.2% | 23.4% |
| Chippewa County, MN | 21 | 12.4% | 27.8% |
| Big Stone County, MN | 20 | 12.3% | 29.3% |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | 16 | 8.9% | 23.0% |
| Pope County, MN | 16 | 8.6% | 25.4% |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 10 | 9.3% | 29.1% |
| 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 Swift County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Swift County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 12th 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, Swift County ranks 6th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Swift 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.
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 Swift County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.