About one in nine people with a credit file in Traverse County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Traverse County, 11.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Traverse County's score
In Traverse County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 52.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 6.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 31.9 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Traverse 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, Traverse County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 52.5 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 rent24.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.7% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
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- 51.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.8% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 41.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.1% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.1% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance1.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,666 · 202443rd percentile
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- 12.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.7% · second quarter of 202612th percentile
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- 6.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.5% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people31.9 · 20255th 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 Traverse 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 Traverse County, 25.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Traverse County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Traverse County had its largest rise, from 17.1% in 1989 to 24.8% in 1994.
In Traverse County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Traverse County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Traverse County getting SNAP food aid tripled to 16.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 16.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Traverse County, Minnesota.
How Traverse County has changed
Traverse County's population fell by about half to 3,134, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 5,593. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Traverse County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Traverse County had its largest drop, from 1,254 in 1995 to 1,106 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Traverse County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 1,254 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Traverse County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 13.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,155 | 2024 $68,666 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Traverse County's history
1862
February 20, 1862 (created) 1881 (organized). Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 8,283. The 2020 Census counted 3,360, 41% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in March 2007 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Traverse County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Traverse County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Traverse County, in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Traverse County ranks 3rd of the seven; Big Stone County is highest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts County, SD | 31 | 16.2% | 24.2% |
| 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% |
| Wilkin County, MN | 15 | 8.5% | 24.5% |
| Stevens County, MN | 6 | 10.9% | 20.9% |
| Richland County, ND | 5 | 10.4% | 18.2% |
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 Traverse County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Traverse County's poverty rate was 13.1% in 2024, 14th 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, Traverse County ranks 39th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Traverse 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 Traverse 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 Traverse County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.