In Slope County, North Dakota, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2023
In 2024, 32 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 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Slope County's score
In Slope County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 45.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Slope 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.
Slope 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.
- 45.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.9% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.4% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,887 · 202461st percentile
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- 26.9 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 rent0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.6% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.4% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
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- 18.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, first quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202517th 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 score30.0% · first quarter of 202613th percentile
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- 11.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202514th 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 Slope 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 Slope County, 28.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Slope County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Slope County had its largest rise in the last span, from 18.8% in 2019 to 32.3% in 2024.
In Slope County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across North Dakota
In Slope County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income grew to about eight times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Slope County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half to 2.4%, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2011
Biggest drop: 2010 to 2011, reaching 2.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Slope County, North Dakota.
How Slope County has changed
Slope County's population fell by more than half to 660, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 1,313. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Slope County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Slope County had its largest rise, from 109 in 2005 to 161 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Slope County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 39% since
High on the chart: 161 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Slope County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.4% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.8% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,689 | 2024 $62,887 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.1% 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 Slope County's history
1914
November 3, 1914 (created) January 14, 1915 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 4,940. The 2020 Census counted 706, 14% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1978
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Slope County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Slope County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Slope County, in North Dakota and Montana, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Slope County ranks 3rd of the eight; Adams County is highest, at 36.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| Golden Valley County, ND | 8 | 11.1% | 24.3% |
| Fallon County, MT | 6 | 9.3% | 20.6% |
| Bowman County, ND | 1 | 10.0% | 24.0% |
| 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 Slope County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Slope County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 8th 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, Slope County ranks 16th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Slope 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.
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 Slope County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.