Wadena County, Minnesota

County Distress Index: Elevated · 50.9 | 14,241 people · 3rd most distressed in Minnesota

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Wadena County, MN registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 50.9 — 1523rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where unemployment is elevated, wages are low relative to housing costs, and business formation lags. Within Minnesota, it ranks 3rd of 87 counties. It scores higher than all 5 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Wadena County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 67.9 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 67.9
Unemployment Rate 95
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 43
Business Formation Rate 66
Income & Poverty 59.8
Poverty Rate 49
Income vs. State Median 94
Child Poverty Rate 37
Housing Cost Burden 52.9
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 48
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 21
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 77
Homeownership Rate 60
Rent-to-Income Ratio 58
Debt & Delinquency 37.2
Debt in Collections 21
Medical Debt 17
Student Loan Delinquency 51
Auto Loan Delinquency 5
Credit Card Delinquency 47
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 82
Community Vulnerability 36.5
Uninsured Rate 26
Disability Rate 47

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Wadena County compares to its 5 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Wadena County
Wadena County, MN 50.9 Elevated
Cass County, MN 49.1 Normal -1.7
Todd County, MN 43.2 Normal -7.7
Hubbard County, MN 41.5 Normal -9.4
Becker County, MN 39.4 Normal -11.5
Otter Tail County, MN 36.7 Normal -14.1

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Wadena County
Logan County, CO 50.9 Elevated 0.0
Breckinridge County, KY 50.9 Elevated 0.0
Goshen County, WY 50.9 Elevated 0.0
Gilmer County, GA 50.9 Elevated +0.0
Transylvania County, NC 50.8 Elevated -0.0

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