About one in 11 people with a credit file in Kidder County, North Dakota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Kidder County, 9.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kidder County's score
In Kidder County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 33.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 16.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kidder 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.
Kidder 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.
- 33.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.3% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance2.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,009 · 202423rd percentile
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- 29.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202640th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
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- 20.8 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.8% · fiscal year 20276th percentile
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- 17.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202521st 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 score21.9% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 16.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people85.4 · 202528th 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 Kidder 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 Kidder County, 27.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kidder County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Kidder County had its largest drop, from 24.4% in 2009 to 18.3% in 2014.
In Kidder County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Kidder County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kidder County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.7% in 2017 to 6.5% in 2018.
The share of households in Kidder County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen to 5.4%
Low on the chart: 3.3% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kidder County, North Dakota.
How Kidder County has changed
Kidder County's population fell by about half to 2,371, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 3,894. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kidder County, North Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kidder County rose 29% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 679. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kidder County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.1% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,234 | 2024 $78,009 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Kidder County's history
1873
January 4, 1873 (created) March 22, 1881 (organized). Wikipedia
1881
Organized March 22, 1881. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 8,031. The 2020 Census counted 2,394, 30% of the peak. Census Bureau
1936
Record high temperature of 121 degrees Fahrenheit on July 6, 1936. Wikipedia
1999
A thunderstorm in June 1999 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in July 2001 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in April 2009 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kidder County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kidder County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Kidder County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kidder County ranks 5th of the seven; Sheridan County is highest, at 30.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan County, ND | 16 | 15.5% | 30.4% |
| Emmons County, ND | 14 | 14.0% | 27.8% |
| Stutsman County, ND | 10 | 11.7% | 20.2% |
| Logan County, ND | 9 | 12.9% | 27.9% |
| Kidder County, ND | 8 | 13.9% | 22.3% |
| Wells County, ND | 2 | 12.8% | 22.5% |
| Burleigh County, ND | 1 | 8.1% | 14.5% |
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 Kidder County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Kidder County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 7th 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, Kidder County ranks 21st of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kidder 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 Kidder 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 Kidder County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.