In McKenzie County, North Dakota, benefit checks make up only 7 cents of every dollar of income
In McKenzie County, 7.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives McKenzie County's score
In McKenzie County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 78.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 11.0. About one in 13 renters (7.8%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in McKenzie 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, McKenzie County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (9.5%, August 2025) and people with a credit card behind (8.6%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.0% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 34.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.1% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people28.1 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 23.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.5% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 21.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.2% · 20249th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability8.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$110,682 · 20245th or lower percentile
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- 11.0 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 rent7.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th 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 McKenzie 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 McKenzie County, 9.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
McKenzie County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in McKenzie County fell most sharply on the way to its 2014 low, from 14.6% in 2009 to 5.4% in 2014.
In McKenzie County, pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In McKenzie County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income held level from 1969 to 2024, reaching 7.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in McKenzie County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.2% in 2014 to 4.3% in 2015.
The share of households in McKenzie County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 3.4%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 2.3% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, McKenzie County, North Dakota.
How McKenzie County has changed
McKenzie County's population had its largest rise, from 6,159 in 2009 to 10,779 in 2014.
McKenzie County's population fell to its lowest on the chart in 2004, then climbed past the 1969 level
Low on the chart: 5,611 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, McKenzie County, North Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in McKenzie County grew to about six times its 1990 size, reaching 11,760, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 10,827. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, McKenzie County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.3% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.0% | 2024 8.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,317 | 2024 $110,682 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in McKenzie County's history
1883
March 9, 1883 (created) April 20, 1905 (organized). Wikipedia
1905
Organized April 20, 1905. Wikipedia
1914
Schafer became a ghost town when businesses and homes moved to new Watford City railroad townsite in 1914. Wikipedia
1979
Watford City Air Force Station opened nearby in 1979. Wikipedia
1997
Frost/freeze in November 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in May 2014 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A tornado in July 2018 did $3.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 14,704, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
Bakken Formation oil boom: McKenzie County grew 131.2% from 6,360 to 14,704 inhabitants between 2010 and 2020, fastest growing county in the United States during that period. Wikipedia
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered McKenzie County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
McKenzie County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border McKenzie County, in North Dakota and Montana, one scores higher. Of the group, McKenzie County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Wibaux County gets the largest, at 28.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountrail County, ND | 34 | 11.7% | 13.7% |
| McKenzie County, ND | 22 | 8.2% | 7.4% |
| Wibaux County, MT | 19 | 11.5% | 28.5% |
| Williams County, ND | 17 | 7.9% | 9.5% |
| Richland County, MT | 10 | 9.8% | 14.6% |
| 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 McKenzie County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, McKenzie County's poverty rate was 8.2% in 2024, 48th 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, McKenzie County ranks 7th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in McKenzie 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 McKenzie 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 McKenzie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.