In Piute County, Utah, benefit checks make up only 23 cents of every dollar of income
In Piute County, 23.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 67% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Piute County's score
In Piute County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 90.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.6. About one in five people (18.5%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Piute 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, Piute County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (23.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.3% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 65.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.0% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability23.2% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,338 · 202462nd percentile
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- 51.1 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 rent16.0% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 16.1 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 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people64.5 · 202516th percentile
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- 12.6 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 202518th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score18.5% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Piute 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 Piute County, 29.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Piute County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Piute County had its largest drop, from 36.2% in 2014 to 25.4% in 2019.
In Piute County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 23.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Piute County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Piute County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.3% in 2022 to 9.0% in 2023.
The share of households in Piute County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 3.3% 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, Piute County, Utah.
How Piute County has changed
Piute County's population rose by about a fifth to 1,534, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
High on the chart: 1,534 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Piute County, Utah.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Piute County doubled to 306, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 294. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Piute County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 6.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.5% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,693 | 2024 $62,338 |
The table uses 6.0% for 2025; the score uses 6.3% 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 Piute County's history
1865
Created January 16, 1865 from Beaver County. Wikipedia
1868
Gold mining produced 240,000 ounces 1868-1959 from Tushar Mountains lodes. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 2,770. The 2020 Census counted 1,438, 52% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A flash flood in August 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Piute County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Piute County beside its neighbors
Piute County scores higher than all four counties that border it. Of the group, Piute County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Beaver County gets the largest, at 32.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piute County, UT | 45 | 13.7% | 23.1% |
| Sevier County, UT | 33 | 10.0% | 27.0% |
| Garfield County, UT | 25 | 9.8% | 25.0% |
| Wayne County, UT | 9 | 10.3% | 23.9% |
| Beaver County, UT | 5 | 9.5% | 32.2% |
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 Piute County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Piute County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 2nd highest of 29 in Utah (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is San Juan County, at 19.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Piute County ranks 4th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Piute 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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Utah Legal Services
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 Piute County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.