In Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Yellow Medicine 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 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yellow Medicine County's score
In Yellow Medicine County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 55.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 11.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yellow Medicine 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, Yellow Medicine County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.4% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
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- 22.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.9% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
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- 19.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.9% · 202417th percentile
- People with a disability13.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,444 · 202419th percentile
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- 13.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.8% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people73.9 · 202521st percentile
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- 11.5 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 rent11.8% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.1% · fiscal year 20275th 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 Yellow Medicine 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 Yellow Medicine County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yellow Medicine County
Minnesota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Yellow Medicine County had its largest rise, from 13.9% in 1979 to 19.4% in 1984.
In Yellow Medicine County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Yellow Medicine County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.1% in 2019 to 6.0% in 2020.
The share of households in Yellow Medicine County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 4.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota.
How Yellow Medicine County has changed
Yellow Medicine County's population had its largest drop, from 13,081 in 1984 to 11,875 in 1989.
Yellow Medicine County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9,373, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 11,602. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota.
The number of jobs located in Yellow Medicine County rose most sharply from its first year (3,574 in 1990) to 4,016 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Yellow Medicine County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 4,422 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.4% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,666 | 2024 $80,444 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Yellow Medicine County's history
1871
County established by Minnesota legislature March 6, 1871, with Granite Falls as county seat. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 16,917. The 2020 Census counted 9,528, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A thunderstorm in April 1984 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in July 2000 did $20 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A thunderstorm in August 2020 did $1.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yellow Medicine County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yellow Medicine County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Yellow Medicine County, in Minnesota and South Dakota, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yellow Medicine County ranks 5th of the eight; Lac qui Parle County is highest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renville County, MN | 25 | 10.8% | 26.1% |
| Redwood County, MN | 24 | 11.0% | 19.6% |
| Chippewa County, MN | 21 | 12.4% | 27.8% |
| Lincoln County, MN | 17 | 12.3% | 28.0% |
| Lyon County, MN | 16 | 11.1% | 23.4% |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 10 | 9.3% | 29.1% |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 10 | 9.8% | 24.4% |
| Deuel County, SD | 0 | 8.6% | 16.3% |
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 Yellow Medicine County the poorest county in Minnesota?
No, Yellow Medicine County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 49th 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, Yellow Medicine County ranks 72nd of 87 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yellow Medicine 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.
Download the CSV for Yellow Medicine 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 Yellow Medicine County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.