About one in seven people with a credit file in Klickitat County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Klickitat County, 14.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Klickitat County's score
In Klickitat County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 85.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 19.4. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.9%, August 2025, lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Klickitat 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, Klickitat County is worse off than most counties on adults 25 to 54 not working (30.4%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.4% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 51.9 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 rent14.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.8% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
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- 46.8 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 line17.1% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability18.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,060 · 202433rd percentile
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- 35.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.5% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people135.7 · 202554th percentile
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- 19.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.4% · second quarter of 202614th 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 Klickitat 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 Klickitat County, 25.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Klickitat County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Klickitat County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Klickitat County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Klickitat County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.4% in 2015 to 16.6% in 2016.
The share of households in Klickitat County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 12.0%
Biggest drop: 2013 to 2014, reaching 15.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Klickitat County, Washington.
How Klickitat County has changed
Klickitat County's population doubled to 24,124, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 15,170. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Klickitat County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Klickitat County rose 40% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 6,728. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Klickitat County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.9% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,623 | 2024 $73,060 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Klickitat County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 22,735, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Klickitat County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Klickitat County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Klickitat County, in Washington and Oregon, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Klickitat County ranks 3rd of the nine; Sherman County is highest, at 30.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 69 | 16.7% | 27.9% |
| Wasco County, OR | 67 | 12.8% | 29.2% |
| Sherman County, OR | 63 | 14.1% | 30.2% |
| Klickitat County, WA | 46 | 12.2% | 29.1% |
| Benton County, WA | 39 | 10.6% | 20.3% |
| Gilliam County, OR | 36 | 11.5% | 24.7% |
| Morrow County, OR | 33 | 11.5% | 23.6% |
| Skamania County, WA | 27 | 10.3% | 19.4% |
| Hood River County, OR | 21 | 10.8% | 17.5% |
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 Klickitat County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Klickitat County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 17th 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, Klickitat County ranks 13th of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Klickitat 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 Klickitat 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 Klickitat County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.