North Dakota County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 53 counties in North Dakota, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 26.7.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
North Dakota Snapshot
53 Counties Scored
26.7 Mean Score
25.0 Median Score
57.3 Rolette County Most Distressed
12.3 LaMoure County Least Distressed
2 Elevated 7 Normal 44 Healthy
Zone Distribution North Dakota County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 53 North Dakota counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
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 | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,136 | Rolette County | 57.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 2 | 1,567 | Sioux County | 50.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 3 | 1,988 | McKenzie County | 43.4 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 4 | 2,067 | Williams County | 42.1 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 2,197 | Mountrail County | 40.0 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 6 | 2,207 | Benson County | 39.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 2,328 | Ward County | 37.6 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 8 | 2,440 | Grand Forks County | 35.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 9 | 2,460 | Richland County | 35.4 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 10 | 2,493 | Stark County | 34.7 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 11 | 2,495 | Morton County | 34.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 2,548 | Grant County | 33.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 13 | 2,552 | Cass County | 33.7 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 14 | 2,578 | Barnes County | 33.2 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 2,667 | Hettinger County | 31.6 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 16 | 2,668 | Ramsey County | 31.6 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 17 | 2,701 | Stutsman County | 31.0 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 2,752 | Adams County | 30.1 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 19 | 2,756 | Mercer County | 30.0 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 20 | 2,776 | Pierce County | 29.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 21 | 2,780 | Walsh County | 29.6 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 2,798 | Eddy County | 29.1 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 23 | 2,899 | Burleigh County | 26.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 24 | 2,907 | Golden Valley County | 26.7 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 25 | 2,921 | Sheridan County | 26.2 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 2,941 | Dunn County | 25.8 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 27 | 2,967 | Emmons County | 25.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 28 | 2,974 | Logan County | 24.8 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 29 | 2,988 | Divide County | 24.3 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 2,995 | Foster County | 23.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 31 | 3,017 | McIntosh County | 22.9 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 32 | 3,033 | Slope County | 22.1 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 33 | 3,034 | Wells County | 22.0 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 34 | 3,036 | Kidder County | 21.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 35 | 3,051 | Ransom County | 20.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 36 | 3,071 | Traill County | 20.1 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 37 | 3,074 | Towner County | 19.9 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 38 | 3,075 | Dickey County | 19.8 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 39 | 3,087 | Sargent County | 19.3 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 40 | 3,090 | Nelson County | 19.2 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 41 | 3,098 | Griggs County | 18.3 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 42 | 3,100 | Oliver County | 18.2 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 43 | 3,111 | Burke County | 17.6 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 44 | 3,113 | Pembina County | 17.4 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 45 | 3,115 | McHenry County | 17.2 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 46 | 3,122 | Renville County | 16.5 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 47 | 3,125 | Cavalier County | 16.0 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 48 | 3,128 | Bowman County | 15.9 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 49 | 3,130 | Bottineau County | 15.5 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 50 | 3,135 | McLean County | 15.1 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 51 | 3,137 | Billings County | 14.5 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 52 | 3,139 | Steele County | 13.9 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 53 | 3,140 | LaMoure County | 12.3 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties