About one in 11 people with a credit file in Wabasha County, Minnesota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wabasha County, 9.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wabasha County's score
In Wabasha County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 29.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wabasha 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.
Wabasha 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.
- 29.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.9% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
-
- 29.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.2% · August 20252nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people138.4 · 202555th percentile
-
- 20.0 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 rent16.0% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.0% · fiscal year 20272nd percentile
-
- 8.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.0% · 20244th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.2% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability11.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- People without health insurance3.8% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,105 · 202418th percentile
-
- 5.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.0% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score24.5% · second quarter of 20262nd percentile
-
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 Wabasha 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 Wabasha County, 23.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wabasha County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wabasha County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Wabasha County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wabasha County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.4% in 2012 to 6.0% in 2013.
The share of households in Wabasha County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 5.5%
Low on the chart: 2.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wabasha County, Minnesota.
How Wabasha County has changed
Wabasha County's population had its largest rise, from 18,088 in 1974 to 19,422 in 1979.
Wabasha County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21,574
High on the chart: 21,755 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wabasha County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Wabasha County rose most sharply from its first year (5,277 in 1990) to 6,346 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Wabasha County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 7,273 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wabasha County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.8% | 2024 7.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,539 | 2024 $81,105 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Wabasha County's history
1996
A thunderstorm in May 1996 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 21,676. The 2020 Census counted 21,387, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A flood in September 2010 did $4.59 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in September 2010 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in September 2010 did $5.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wabasha County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wabasha County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Wabasha County, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wabasha County ranks 2nd of the six; Pepin County is highest, at 25.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodhue County, MN | 12 | 7.2% | 21.0% |
| Winona County, MN | 11 | 13.3% | 22.1% |
| Olmsted County, MN | 7 | 6.8% | 16.1% |
| Pepin County, WI | 5 | 11.0% | 25.9% |
| Buffalo County, WI | 3 | 8.8% | 25.1% |
| Wabasha County, MN | 3 | 7.0% | 25.3% |
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 Wabasha County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Wabasha County's poverty rate was 7.0% in 2024, 79th 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, Wabasha County ranks 86th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wabasha 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.
-
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Wabasha 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 Wabasha County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.