About one in 11 people with a credit file in Towner County, North Dakota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Towner County, 9.2% 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 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Towner County's score
In Towner County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 25.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Unemployment averaged 2.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Towner 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.
Towner 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.
- 25.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.9% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,383 · 202426th percentile
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- 19.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second 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 score31.6% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
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- 14.4 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 rent12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.9% · fiscal year 20276th percentile
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- 7.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people49.3 · 20259th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Towner 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 Towner County, 23.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Towner County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Towner County had its largest rise, from 7.2% in 1974 to 13.3% in 1979.
In Towner County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Towner County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Towner County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.3% in 2017 to 5.3% in 2018.
The share of households in Towner County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.0% 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, Towner County, North Dakota.
How Towner County has changed
Towner County's population fell by more than half to 2,051, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 3,245. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Towner County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Towner County had its largest drop, from 973 in 2000 to 870 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Towner County fell 38% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 1,058 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Towner County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.9% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.3% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,207 | 2024 $76,383 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 2.3% 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 Towner County's history
1883
March 8, 1883 (created) January 24, 1884 (organized). Wikipedia
1894
Dunkers Colony founded by settlers from Indiana in 1894, later renamed Zion. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 8,963. The 2020 Census counted 2,162, 24% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Towner County, 22 of them for flooding. FEMA
Towner County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Towner County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Towner County ranks 5th of the six; Rolette County is highest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolette County, ND | 87 | 23.4% | 33.3% |
| Benson County, ND | 53 | 24.2% | 29.8% |
| Ramsey County, ND | 6 | 11.6% | 23.5% |
| Pierce County, ND | 4 | 11.7% | 27.0% |
| Cavalier County, ND | 3 | 9.7% | 18.4% |
| Towner County, ND | 1 | 10.0% | 23.2% |
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 Towner County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Towner County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 36th 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, Towner County ranks 47th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Towner 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 Towner 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 Towner County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.