In Mineral County, Nevada, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 43 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mineral County's score
In Mineral County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 79.7. About one in four people (23.0%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a higher share than in 92% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 79.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mineral 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.
Mineral County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (1.5%, August 2025) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.0%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.6% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.6% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability23.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance11.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,610 · 202474th percentile
-
- 79.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year9.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.0% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
-
- 62.6 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 rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.7% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
-
- 62.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.5% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people132.5 · 202552nd percentile
-
- 38.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.7% · second quarter of 202676th 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 Mineral 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 Mineral County, 26.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mineral County
Nevada
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mineral County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Nevada
In Mineral County, Nevada, benefit checks' share of income grew to about eight times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 42.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mineral County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.0% in 2010 to 13.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Mineral County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.4% 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, Mineral County, Nevada.
How Mineral County has changed
Mineral County's population fell 37% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 6,115. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mineral County, Nevada.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Mineral County fell by more than half to 1,081, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1995 to 2000, reaching 1,809. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mineral County, Nevada.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 10.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 17.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,509 | 2024 $58,610 |
The table uses 10.5% for 2025; the score uses 9.0% 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 Mineral County's history
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 7,051. The 2020 Census counted 4,554, 65% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1997
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mineral County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mineral County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Mineral County, in Nevada and California, two score higher. Of the group, Mineral County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (42.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nye County, NV | 90 | 13.8% | 38.2% |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 84 | 14.8% | 27.2% |
| Mineral County, NV | 74 | 17.6% | 42.7% |
| Lyon County, NV | 63 | 11.4% | 25.3% |
| Churchill County, NV | 53 | 9.9% | 27.0% |
| Mono County, CA | 11 | 9.8% | 12.7% |
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 Mineral County the poorest county in Nevada?
No, Mineral County's poverty rate was 17.6% in 2024, 2nd 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, Mineral County ranks 4th of 17 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mineral 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.
-
Northern Nevada Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
Nevada 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 Mineral 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 Mineral County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.