In Hettinger County, North Dakota, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 34 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.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hettinger County's score
In Hettinger County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 54.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.9. Unemployment averaged 2.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hettinger 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.
Even so, Hettinger County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (8.0%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.5 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 48.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.0% · 202448th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.3% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,824 · 202449th percentile
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- 41.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th 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 score31.0% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 31.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.6% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people124.2 · 202549th percentile
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- 5.9 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 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.3% · 2020 to 20246th 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 Hettinger 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 Hettinger 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
Hettinger County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hettinger County had its largest rise in the last span, from 22.2% in 2019 to 33.7% in 2024.
In Hettinger County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across North Dakota
In Hettinger County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 33.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hettinger County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 4.7% in 2019 to 3.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Hettinger County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 4.2%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 3.1% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hettinger County, North Dakota.
How Hettinger County has changed
Hettinger County's population fell by about half to 2,419, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 3,027. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hettinger County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Hettinger County made its largest gain on the way to its 2015 high, from 662 in 2010 to 741 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Hettinger County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2005, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 616 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hettinger County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 2.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.5% | 2024 13.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,699 | 2024 $66,824 |
The table uses 2.2% 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 Hettinger County's history
1883
March 9, 1883 (created) April 19, 1907 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 8,796. The 2020 Census counted 2,489, 28% of the peak. Census Bureau
1975
1975 F4 tornado struck Mott, killing one and injuring four. Wikipedia
1975
A tornado in June 1975 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in July 2019 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A flood in May 2022 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hettinger County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hettinger County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Hettinger County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hettinger County ranks 2nd of the five; Adams County is highest, at 36.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, ND | 30 | 16.9% | 33.5% |
| Hettinger County, ND | 26 | 13.0% | 33.7% |
| Adams County, ND | 17 | 12.2% | 36.7% |
| Slope County, ND | 11 | 13.6% | 32.3% |
| Stark County, ND | 9 | 10.1% | 13.1% |
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 Hettinger County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Hettinger County's poverty rate was 13.0% in 2024, 9th 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, Hettinger County ranks 6th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hettinger 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 Hettinger 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 Hettinger County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.