In Mountrail County, North Dakota, benefit checks make up only 14 cents of every dollar of income
In Mountrail County, 13.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mountrail County's score
In Mountrail County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 66.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 25.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 42.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mountrail 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, Mountrail County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (15.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (7.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.9% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 39.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance15.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,966 · 202423rd percentile
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- 37.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.4% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 36.0 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 rent12.3% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd percentile
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- 25.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.4% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people42.6 · 20256th 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 Mountrail 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 Mountrail County, 13.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mountrail County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Mountrail County fell most sharply on the way to its 2014 low, from 17.4% in 2009 to 8.7% in 2014.
In Mountrail County, pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Mountrail County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mountrail County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.5% in 2011 to 5.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Mountrail County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 4.7%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 2.1% 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, Mountrail County, North Dakota.
How Mountrail County has changed
Mountrail County's population had its largest rise, from 7,439 in 2009 to 9,466 in 2014.
Mountrail County's population fell to its lowest on the chart in 1999, then climbed past the 1969 level
Low on the chart: 6,700 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mountrail County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Mountrail County had its largest rise, from 4,203 in 2010 to 7,066 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Mountrail County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 7,066 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mountrail County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.3% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,503 | 2024 $77,966 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Mountrail County's history
1873
January 4, 1873 (created) November 8, 1892 (eliminated) January 16, 1909 (re-created) January 29, 1909 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 13,544. The 2020 Census counted 9,809, 72% of the peak. Census Bureau
1935
Deadly tornado struck Stanley in 1935. Wikipedia
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Since 1969
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mountrail County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mountrail County beside its neighbors
Mountrail County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mountrail County ranks 4th of the seven; McLean County is highest, at 22.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountrail County, ND | 34 | 11.7% | 13.7% |
| McKenzie County, ND | 22 | 8.2% | 7.4% |
| Williams County, ND | 17 | 7.9% | 9.5% |
| Ward County, ND | 14 | 10.7% | 15.5% |
| Burke County, ND | 8 | 9.7% | 14.8% |
| Dunn County, ND | 3 | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| McLean County, ND | 0 | 10.8% | 22.6% |
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 Mountrail County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Mountrail County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 18th 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, Mountrail County ranks 4th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mountrail 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 Mountrail 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 Mountrail County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.