North Dakota County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 53 counties in North Dakota, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average North Dakota county scores 11.6. 1 county scores high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
North Dakota Snapshot
North Dakota County Map
Rolette County is the most distressed of North Dakota's 53 counties
County Distress Index score for North Dakota's 53 counties, from green (least distressed, 0–29) to red (most distressed, 80–100). Data from 2024 to Aug 2026.
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County Distress Index score · data from 2024 to Aug 2026
Point to or tap a county for its rank and score. Click it, or tap it twice, to open its page.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How North Dakota's 53 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All North Dakota Counties
53 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Rolette County | 87 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | — | Sioux County | 56 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 3 | — | Benson County | 53 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 4 | — | Mountrail County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 5 | — | Grant County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | — | Hettinger County | 26 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | — | McKenzie County | 22 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 8 | — | Walsh County | 18 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 9 | — | Williams County | 17 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 10 | — | Adams County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 11 | — | Sheridan County | 16 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 12 | — | Emmons County | 14 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 13 | — | Ward County | 14 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 14 | — | Barnes County | 13 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | — | Divide County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | — | Slope County | 11 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 17 | — | Stutsman County | 10 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | — | Stark County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 19 | — | McIntosh County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 20 | — | Logan County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 21 | — | Kidder County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 22 | — | Golden Valley County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 23 | — | Grand Forks County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 24 | — | Burke County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 25 | — | Cass County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 26 | — | Morton County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 27 | — | Eddy County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | — | McHenry County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 29 | — | Ramsey County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 30 | — | Mercer County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 31 | — | Richland County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 32 | — | Pembina County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 33 | — | Pierce County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 34 | — | Traill County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 35 | — | Dickey County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | — | Dunn County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 37 | 3,049 | Cavalier County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 38 | 3,060 | Griggs County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 39 | 3,061 | Nelson County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 40 | 3,063 | Ransom County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 41 | 3,064 | Wells County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 42 | 3,074 | Foster County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 43 | 3,079 | Oliver County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 44 | 3,080 | Bottineau County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 45 | 3,081 | Sargent County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 46 | 3,091 | Renville County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 47 | 3,092 | Towner County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 48 | 3,093 | Bowman County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 49 | 3,112 | Burleigh County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | 3,116 | LaMoure County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 51 | 3,123 | Steele County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 52 | 3,136 | Billings County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 53 | 3,140 | McLean County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
Urban Institute data: 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. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it.