In Elko County, Nevada, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Elko County, 15.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Elko County's score
In Elko County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 58.8. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 21.8. About one in nine renters (11.7%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 82% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Elko 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.
Elko 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.
- 58.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.2% · second quarter of 202638th percentile
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- 43.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.5% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people92.1 · 202531st percentile
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- 35.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.5% · 202418th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.0% · 202413th percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$91,128 · 202410th percentile
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- 21.8 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th 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 Elko 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 Elko County, 13.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Elko County
Nevada
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Elko County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 15.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Elko County, Nevada, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Elko County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 2.3% in 2010 to 3.7% in 2011.
The share of households in Elko County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 2.3% 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, Elko County, Nevada.
How Elko County has changed
Elko County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size, reaching 54,363, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 30,904. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Elko County, Nevada.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Elko County rose by about half to 22,540, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 18,365. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Elko County, Nevada.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.7% | 2024 9.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,001 | 2024 $91,128 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Elko County's history
1869
Established in 1869. Wikipedia
2017
A flood in February 2017 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A thunderstorm in April 2018 did $1,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
Hail in May 2018 did $5,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A thunderstorm in July 2018 did $3,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 53,702, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Elko County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Elko County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Elko County, in Nevada, Idaho and Utah, seven score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Elko County ranks 8th of the 10; White Pine County is highest, at 24.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka County, NV | 66 | 11.1% | 18.4% |
| Owyhee County, ID | 56 | 13.2% | 21.5% |
| Lander County, NV | 49 | 10.9% | 13.9% |
| White Pine County, NV | 48 | 12.6% | 24.5% |
| Twin Falls County, ID | 37 | 10.9% | 22.2% |
| Humboldt County, NV | 30 | 10.6% | 19.5% |
| Cassia County, ID | 28 | 12.9% | 17.5% |
| Elko County, NV | 27 | 9.5% | 15.7% |
| Tooele County, UT | 16 | 6.2% | 14.7% |
| Box Elder County, UT | 15 | 6.8% | 17.3% |
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 Elko County the poorest county in Nevada?
No, Elko County's poverty rate was 9.5% in 2024, 14th highest of 17 in Nevada (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Pershing County, at 18.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Elko County ranks 16th of 17 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Elko 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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Northern Nevada Legal Aid
Legal aid
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Nevada Legal Services
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.
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 Elko County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.