About one in 26 people with a credit file in LaMoure County, North Dakota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In LaMoure County, 3.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives LaMoure County's score
In LaMoure County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 18.1. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 7.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in LaMoure 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.
LaMoure 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.
- 18.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.9% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.6% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$87,326 · 202412th percentile
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- 15.1 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 rent13.6% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.9% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.2% · August 20255th or lower 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 score28.5% · second quarter of 20269th percentile
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- 10.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.0% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
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- 7.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector3.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people48.8 · 20258th 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 LaMoure 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 LaMoure County, 26.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
LaMoure County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in LaMoure County rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 8.8% in 1974 to 16.1% in 1979.
In LaMoure County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 19.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In LaMoure County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in LaMoure County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.4% in 2011 to 5.3% in 2012.
The share of households in LaMoure County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 5.7%
Low on the chart: 2.2% 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, LaMoure County, North Dakota.
How LaMoure County has changed
LaMoure County's population had its largest drop, from 6,119 in 1984 to 5,500 in 1989.
LaMoure County's population fell 44% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2014 to 2019, reaching 4,096. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, LaMoure County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in LaMoure County fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 1,413 in 2015 to 1,280 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in LaMoure County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,406
High on the chart: 1,413 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, LaMoure County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.4% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.7% | 2024 10.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,057 | 2024 $87,326 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.2% 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 LaMoure County's history
1873
January 4, 1873 (created) October 27, 1881 (organized). Wikipedia
1881
Organized October 27, 1881. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 11,564. The 2020 Census counted 4,093, 35% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
A flood in March 2009 did $1.77 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A thunderstorm in May 2010 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A thunderstorm in June 2024 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered LaMoure County, 27 of them for flooding. FEMA
LaMoure County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border LaMoure County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, LaMoure County ranks 6th of the seven; McIntosh County is highest, at 34.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnes County, ND | 13 | 10.4% | 23.2% |
| Stutsman County, ND | 10 | 11.7% | 20.2% |
| McIntosh County, ND | 9 | 12.3% | 34.1% |
| Logan County, ND | 9 | 12.9% | 27.9% |
| Dickey County, ND | 3 | 12.5% | 17.1% |
| Ransom County, ND | 2 | 8.7% | 22.4% |
| LaMoure County, ND | 0 | 10.9% | 19.6% |
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 LaMoure County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, LaMoure County's poverty rate was 10.9% in 2024, 29th 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, LaMoure County ranks 50th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in LaMoure 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 LaMoure 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 LaMoure County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.