In Salt Lake County, Utah, benefit checks make up only 13 cents of every dollar of income
In Salt Lake County, 12.5% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Salt Lake County's score
In Salt Lake County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 58.4. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 17.7. The typical household earns $99,008 a year (2024), more than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Salt Lake 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, Salt Lake County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (275, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.5% · August 202528th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people275 · 202588th percentile
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- 53.5 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 rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th percentile
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- 31.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.9% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
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- 29.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.9% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
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- 17.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.9% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.4% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability10.7% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$99,008 · 20245th 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 Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake County, 11.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Salt Lake County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Salt Lake County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 12.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Salt Lake County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Salt Lake County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.0% in 2011 to 8.2% in 2012.
The share of households in Salt Lake County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 5.2%
Low on the chart: 5.1% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Salt Lake County, Utah.
How Salt Lake County has changed
Salt Lake County's population had its largest rise, from 719,048 in 1989 to 819,039 in 1994.
Salt Lake County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,216,274, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 719,048. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Salt Lake County, Utah.
The number of jobs located in Salt Lake County had its largest rise in the last span, from 706,782 in 2020 to 808,479 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Salt Lake County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 808,479, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 539,982. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Salt Lake County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 7.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,997 | 2024 $99,008 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Salt Lake County's history
1847
1847 measles outbreak devastated local Shoshone population. Wikipedia
1862
Fort Douglas established 1862 to maintain Union allegiance. Wikipedia
1999
A tornado in August 1999 did $170 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Lightning in May 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Lightning in July 2002 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 1,185,238, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flash flood in August 2023 did $16 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1983
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Salt Lake County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Salt Lake County beside its neighbors
Salt Lake County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Salt Lake County ranks 2nd of the seven; Tooele County is highest, at 14.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake County, UT | 29 | 7.9% | 12.5% |
| Utah County, UT | 16 | 9.0% | 11.4% |
| Tooele County, UT | 16 | 6.2% | 14.7% |
| Davis County, UT | 11 | 6.4% | 12.2% |
| Summit County, UT | 2 | 5.0% | 3.4% |
| Wasatch County, UT | 2 | 4.8% | 8.5% |
| 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 Salt Lake County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Salt Lake County's poverty rate was 7.9% in 2024, 22nd 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, Salt Lake County ranks 10th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Salt Lake 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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Community Development Corporation of Utah
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
Download the CSV for Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.