About one in 16 people in Wasatch County, Utah, has a disability
In Wasatch County, 6.2% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wasatch County's score
In Wasatch County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 24.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 4.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wasatch 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.
Wasatch 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.
- 24.9 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent16.9% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
-
- 20.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
-
- 19.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.9% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people94.2 · 202532nd percentile
-
- 10.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line4.8% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line5.8% · 20241st percentile
- People with a disability6.2% · 2020 to 20240th percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$129,019 · 20240th percentile
-
- 4.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20254th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.4% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score20.1% · second quarter of 20260th percentile
-
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 Wasatch 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 Wasatch County, 13.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wasatch County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wasatch County had its largest rise, from 9.6% in 1969 to 14.2% in 1974.
In Wasatch County, pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Wasatch County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income fell from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Wasatch County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 1.0%
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 2.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wasatch County, Utah.
How Wasatch County has changed
Wasatch County's population had its largest rise, from 27,718 in 2014 to 34,000 in 2019.
Wasatch County's population grew to about seven times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 37,858, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 9,929. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wasatch County, Utah.
The number of jobs located in Wasatch County had its largest rise in the last span, from 10,154 in 2020 to 12,625 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Wasatch County grew to about five times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 12,625, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 5,838. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wasatch County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.4% | 2024 4.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,460 | 2024 $129,019 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Wasatch County's history
1862
January 17, 1862, created from Great Salt Lake, Green River, Sanpete, Summit, and Utah counties. Wikipedia
2001
A thunderstorm in March 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Lightning in October 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 34,788, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1977
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wasatch County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wasatch County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Wasatch County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wasatch County ranks 4th of the five; Duchesne County is highest, at 20.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duchesne County, UT | 30 | 9.4% | 20.5% |
| Salt Lake County, UT | 29 | 7.9% | 12.5% |
| Utah County, UT | 16 | 9.0% | 11.4% |
| Summit County, UT | 2 | 5.0% | 3.4% |
| Wasatch County, UT | 2 | 4.8% | 8.5% |
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 Wasatch County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Wasatch County's poverty rate was 4.8% in 2024, 28th 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, Wasatch County ranks 28th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wasatch 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.
-
Utah Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Wasatch 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 Wasatch County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.