About one in six people with a credit file in Benton County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Benton County, 16.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Benton County's score
In Benton County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 70.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 25.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 3.4%, August 2025, lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Benton 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, Benton County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.3% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 54.3 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 rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th percentile
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- 37.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.0% · August 202522nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people131.5 · 202552nd percentile
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- 30.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.6% · 202427th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.4% · 202424th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$91,289 · 20249th percentile
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- 25.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.9% · second quarter of 202625th 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 Benton 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 Benton County, 15.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Benton County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Benton County had its largest rise, from 6.2% in 1979 to 10.0% in 1984.
In Benton County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 20.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Benton County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Benton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.5% in 2009 to 11.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Benton County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.8%
High on the chart: 15.7% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Benton County, Washington.
How Benton County has changed
Benton County's population more than tripled to 218,190, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 103,941. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Benton County, Washington.
The number of jobs located in Benton County had its largest rise in the last span, from 87,559 in 2020 to 99,920 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Benton County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 99,920, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 61,733. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Benton County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.3% | 2024 10.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $32,734 | 2024 $91,289 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Benton County's history
1905
Created March 8, 1905, from Klickitat and Yakima Counties. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 206,873, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Benton County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Benton County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Benton County, in Washington and Oregon, five score higher. Of the group, Benton County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Klickitat County gets the largest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 69 | 16.7% | 27.9% |
| Grant County, WA | 62 | 16.8% | 25.2% |
| Umatilla County, OR | 52 | 12.4% | 28.5% |
| Klickitat County, WA | 46 | 12.2% | 29.1% |
| Franklin County, WA | 46 | 14.0% | 20.9% |
| Walla Walla County, WA | 39 | 13.0% | 25.5% |
| Benton County, WA | 39 | 10.6% | 20.3% |
| Morrow County, OR | 33 | 11.5% | 23.6% |
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 Benton County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Benton County's poverty rate was 10.6% in 2024, 24th highest of 39 in Washington (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Whitman County, at 23.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Benton County ranks 26th of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Benton 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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Northwest Justice Project (NJP)
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 Benton 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 Benton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.