About one in 11 people with a credit file in Wayne County, Utah, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wayne County, 9.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wayne County's score
In Wayne County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 51.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 8.4. People with a credit card behind: 1.9%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wayne 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, Wayne County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202687th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.9% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
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- 25.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.3% · 202424th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.5% · 202436th percentile
- People with a disability12.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,968 · 202438th percentile
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- 24.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people114.8 · 202543rd percentile
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- 11.8 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 rent7.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 8.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower 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 score26.5% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, 25.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wayne County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wayne County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Wayne County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.7% in 2021 to 5.5% in 2022.
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 7.0%
Low on the chart: 1.3% 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, Wayne County, Utah.
How Wayne County has changed
Wayne County's population had its largest rise, from 1,854 in 1979 to 2,154 in 1984.
Wayne County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 2,608
High on the chart: 2,788 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wayne County, Utah.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County more than doubled to 1,274, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 868. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wayne County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.6% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.1% | 2024 10.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,602 | 2024 $70,968 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Wayne County's history
1892
March 10, 1892, separated from Piute County. Wikipedia
2006
A flash flood in October 2006 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 2,778. The 2020 Census counted 2,486, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in September 2021 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wayne County. FEMA
Wayne County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Wayne County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wayne County ranks 5th of the six; San Juan County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, UT | 62 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Piute County, UT | 45 | 13.7% | 23.1% |
| Sevier County, UT | 33 | 10.0% | 27.0% |
| Garfield County, UT | 25 | 9.8% | 25.0% |
| Emery County, UT | 23 | 11.8% | 29.5% |
| Wayne County, UT | 9 | 10.3% | 23.9% |
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 Wayne County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Wayne County's poverty rate was 10.3% in 2024, 8th 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, Wayne County ranks 25th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wayne 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 Wayne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.