In Billings County, North Dakota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in eight dollars of the typical household's income
In Billings County, 13.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Billings County's score
In Billings County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 15.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 5.0. About one in 91 renters (1.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Billings 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.
Billings 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.
- 15.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202517th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202524th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score16.7% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 13.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.0% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.9% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability8.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$92,448 · 20248th percentile
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- 11.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202514th percentile
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- 5.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.2% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 5.0 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 rent1.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.2% · 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 Billings 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 Billings County, 26.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Billings County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Billings County fell most sharply on the way to its 2014 low, from 17.0% in 2009 to 4.6% in 2014.
In Billings County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 9.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In Billings County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Billings County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to zero
Low on the chart: 0.0% 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, Billings County, North Dakota.
How Billings County has changed
Billings County's population had its largest rise, from 1,054 in 1979 to 1,213 in 1984.
Billings County's population fell 14% from 1969 to 2024, with its low point on the chart in 2004
Low on the chart: 792 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Billings County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Billings County had its largest rise in the last span, from 524 in 2020 to 745 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Billings County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2000, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 362 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Billings County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 2.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.1% | 2024 9.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,496 | 2024 $92,448 |
The table uses 2.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.1% 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 Billings County's history
1879
February 10, 1879 (created) May 4, 1886 (organized). Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 10,186. The 2020 Census counted 945, 9% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
A thunderstorm in July 2022 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Billings County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Billings County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Billings County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Billings County ranks 5th of the six; Slope County is highest, at 32.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKenzie County, ND | 22 | 8.2% | 7.4% |
| Slope County, ND | 11 | 13.6% | 32.3% |
| Stark County, ND | 9 | 10.1% | 13.1% |
| Golden Valley County, ND | 8 | 11.1% | 24.3% |
| Dunn County, ND | 3 | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| Billings County, ND | 0 | 9.0% | 9.5% |
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 Billings County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Billings County's poverty rate was 9.0% in 2024, 45th highest of 53 in North Dakota (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Sioux County, at 29.9%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Billings County ranks 52nd of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Billings 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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Legal Services of North Dakota
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 Billings 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 Billings County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.