About one in seven people with a credit file in Sanpete County, Utah, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Sanpete County, 14.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sanpete County's score
In Sanpete County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 54.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.3. People with a credit card behind: 3.1%, August 2025, lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sanpete 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.
Sanpete 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.
- 54.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.7% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 38.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.6% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability13.4% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,940 · 202436th percentile
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- 35.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.7% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people135.4 · 202554th percentile
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- 33.1 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 rent15.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202732nd percentile
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- 12.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.8% · second quarter of 202612th 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 Sanpete 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 Sanpete County, 14.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sanpete County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sanpete County rose most in two steps: 12.8% in 1969 to 16.4% in 1974; 21.6% in 2004 to 25.2% in 2009.
In Sanpete County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Sanpete County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sanpete County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.8% in 2009 to 8.5% in 2010.
The share of households in Sanpete County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.7% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sanpete County, Utah.
How Sanpete County has changed
Sanpete County's population tripled to 30,732, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 22,550. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sanpete County, Utah.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sanpete County more than doubled to 9,524, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 6,528. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sanpete County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.8% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.0% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,463 | 2024 $71,940 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Sanpete County's history
1850
Created January 31, 1850 by the State of Deseret. Wikipedia
1872
Utes relocated to Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Eastern Utah. Wikipedia
2002
A tornado in September 2002 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 28,437, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sanpete County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sanpete County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Sanpete County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sanpete County ranks 4th of the seven; Carbon County is highest, at 29.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon County, UT | 53 | 13.5% | 29.9% |
| Sevier County, UT | 33 | 10.0% | 27.0% |
| Sanpete County, UT | 24 | 12.2% | 24.7% |
| Emery County, UT | 23 | 11.8% | 29.5% |
| Utah County, UT | 16 | 9.0% | 11.4% |
| Millard County, UT | 13 | 10.3% | 21.5% |
| Juab County, UT | 11 | 7.7% | 19.6% |
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 Sanpete County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Sanpete County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 6th 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, Sanpete County ranks 14th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sanpete 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.
Download the CSV for Sanpete 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 Sanpete County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.