In Wilkin County, Minnesota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Wilkin County, 15.1% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wilkin County's score
In Wilkin County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 46.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 15.1. About one in 25 people (4.0%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a lower share than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wilkin 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.
Wilkin 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.
- 46.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.8% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
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- 30.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.9% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 27.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.9% · August 202522nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people95.1 · 202533rd percentile
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- 24.2 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 rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.1% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 15.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.5% · 202411th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.3% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability13.4% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,591 · 202419th 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 Wilkin 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 Wilkin County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wilkin County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wilkin County had its largest rise, from 7.7% in 1974 to 13.5% in 1979.
In Wilkin County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Wilkin County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wilkin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.5% in 2018 to 9.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Wilkin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 4.4% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wilkin County, Minnesota.
How Wilkin County has changed
Wilkin County's population fell by about a third to 6,268, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 8,768. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wilkin County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Wilkin County had its largest drop, from 1,965 in 2015 to 1,661 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Wilkin County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 2,101 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wilkin County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 8.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,445 | 2024 $80,591 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Wilkin County's history
1858
March 8, 1858 (created as Toombs) 1863 (renamed) March 6, 1868 (renamed). Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 10,650. The 2020 Census counted 6,506, 61% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wilkin County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wilkin County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Wilkin County, in Minnesota and North Dakota, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wilkin County ranks 4th of the six; Grant County is highest, at 29.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, MN | 26 | 9.8% | 29.2% |
| Traverse County, MN | 20 | 13.1% | 25.6% |
| Clay County, MN | 19 | 11.2% | 22.9% |
| Wilkin County, MN | 15 | 8.5% | 24.5% |
| Otter Tail County, MN | 12 | 10.5% | 27.0% |
| 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 Wilkin County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Wilkin County's poverty rate was 8.5% in 2024, 68th 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, Wilkin County ranks 56th of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wilkin 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 Wilkin 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 Wilkin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.