In Cass County, North Dakota, benefit checks make up only 12 cents of every dollar of income
In Cass County, 11.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cass County's score
In Cass County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 30.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 3.9. Unemployment averaged 2.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cass 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.
Cass 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.
- 30.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.7% · second quarter of 202614th percentile
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- 29.2 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 rent17.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th percentile
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- 27.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.5% · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.3 · 202534th percentile
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- 20.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.5% · 202415th percentile
- People with a disability11.2% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,791 · 202423rd percentile
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- 3.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20263rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.3% · 2020 to 20244th 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 Cass 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 Cass County, 13.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cass County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cass County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 10.0% in 2004 to 11.7% in 2009.
In Cass County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 11.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Cass County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 6.7% in 2012 to 7.6% in 2013; 8.3% in 2017 to 7.4% in 2018.
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 5.7% 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, Cass County, North Dakota.
How Cass County has changed
Cass County's population had its largest rise, from 147,872 in 2009 to 167,189 in 2014.
Cass County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 200,945, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 101,759. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cass County, North Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cass County doubled to 128,690, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 115,726. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cass County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.9% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,912 | 2024 $77,791 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.3% 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 Cass County's history
1873
January 4, 1873 (created) October 27, 1873 (organized). Wikipedia
1893
Major fire June 7, 1893 destroyed 31 blocks downtown Fargo. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in June 1957 did $25 million in property damage and killed 10 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A thunderstorm in July 1999 did $80 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A flash flood in June 2000 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Hail in September 2007 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 184,525, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cass County, 27 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cass County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Cass County, in North Dakota and Minnesota, three score higher. Of the group, Cass County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Norman County gets the largest, at 35.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norman County, MN | 23 | 10.5% | 35.4% |
| Clay County, MN | 19 | 11.2% | 22.9% |
| Barnes County, ND | 13 | 10.4% | 23.2% |
| Cass County, ND | 7 | 11.0% | 11.7% |
| Richland County, ND | 5 | 10.4% | 18.2% |
| Traill County, ND | 3 | 10.4% | 20.8% |
| Ransom County, ND | 2 | 8.7% | 22.4% |
| Steele County, ND | 0 | 7.4% | 16.6% |
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 Cass County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Cass County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 27th 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, Cass County ranks 25th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cass 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.
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 Cass County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.