About one in eight people with a credit file in Todd County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Todd County, 12.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Todd County's score
In Todd County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 16.4. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 17.4% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Todd 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, Todd County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
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 year6.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 34.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.5% · 202426th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.7% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability12.7% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,856 · 202438th percentile
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- 24.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.7% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
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- 18.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.4% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people81.8 · 202526th percentile
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- 16.4 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th 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 Todd 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 Todd County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Todd County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Todd County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 22.9% in 2004 to 27.6% in 2009.
In Todd County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 25.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Todd County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Todd County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.1% in 2018 to 7.8% in 2019.
The share of households in Todd County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Todd County, Minnesota.
How Todd County has changed
Todd County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 24,849. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Todd County, Minnesota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Todd County rose by about a quarter to 7,119, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 7,119. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Todd County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,506 | 2024 $70,856 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 6.1% 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 Todd County's history
1855
February 20, 1855 (created) January 1, 1867 (organized). Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 27,438. The 2020 Census counted 25,262, 92% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Todd County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Todd County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Todd County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Todd County ranks 5th of the seven; Wadena County is highest, at 38.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena County, MN | 50 | 15.1% | 38.2% |
| Stearns County, MN | 28 | 11.7% | 20.0% |
| Cass County, MN | 27 | 11.7% | 32.9% |
| Todd County, MN | 19 | 10.5% | 25.8% |
| Morrison County, MN | 15 | 11.5% | 29.6% |
| Otter Tail County, MN | 12 | 10.5% | 27.0% |
| 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 Todd County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Todd County's poverty rate was 10.5% in 2024, 41st 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, Todd County ranks 42nd of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Todd 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 Todd County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.