About one in 16 people with a credit file in Rich County, Utah, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Rich County, 6.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rich County's score
In Rich County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 48.3. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.7. About three in ten people (29.4%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rich 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.
Rich 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.
- 48.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.1% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 38.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector6.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people187.3 · 202571st percentile
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- 31.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.5% · 202411th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.6% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance7.1% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,337 · 202434th percentile
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- 21.4 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 rent8.5% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd percentile
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- 14.7 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 score29.4% · second quarter of 202611th 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 Rich 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 Rich County, 21.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rich County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rich County had its largest rise, from 13.2% in 2004 to 18.2% in 2009.
In Rich County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Rich County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rich County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.0% in 2017 to 2.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Rich County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 3.3%
Low on the chart: 0.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rich County, Utah.
How Rich County has changed
Rich County's population nearly doubled to 2,752, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 1,728. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rich County, Utah.
The number of jobs located in Rich County had its largest rise in the last span, from 883 in 2020 to 1,073 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Rich County tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,073, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 645. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rich County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.2% | 2024 8.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $32,585 | 2024 $72,337 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Rich County's history
1827
Bear Lake Valley annual rendezvous of fur trappers 1827 onwards. Wikipedia
1862
Homestead Act 1862 opened area to settlement. Wikipedia
1864
January 16, 1864 (created) May 5, 1864 (organized). Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 2,510, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rich County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rich County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Rich County, in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rich County ranks 3rd of the eight; Bear Lake County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weber County, UT | 32 | 8.9% | 16.5% |
| Uinta County, WY | 26 | 10.7% | 24.1% |
| Rich County, UT | 17 | 8.5% | 16.7% |
| Cache County, UT | 14 | 9.7% | 14.9% |
| Bear Lake County, ID | 8 | 9.9% | 27.0% |
| Summit County, UT | 2 | 5.0% | 3.4% |
| Lincoln County, WY | 1 | 6.9% | 15.8% |
| Morgan County, UT | 1 | 4.2% | 10.5% |
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 Rich County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Rich County's poverty rate was 8.5% in 2024, 20th 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, Rich County ranks 16th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rich 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 Rich County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.