About one in six people with a credit file in Lincoln County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lincoln County, 16.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 81.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 23.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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, Lincoln County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (20.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202691st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
-
- 50.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.8% · 202453rd percentile
- People with a disability20.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance3.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,764 · 202461st percentile
-
- 33.5 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 rent11.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd percentile
-
- 31.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.0% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
-
- 23.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.5% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people76.7 · 202523rd 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 26.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 31.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.4%; 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 Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 14.7%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 14.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Washington.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 10,765 in 2019 to 11,862 in 2024.
Lincoln County's population rose by about a quarter to 11,862, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 11,862 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County rose 14% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,912 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 5.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.5% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,970 | 2024 $62,764 |
The table uses 5.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.7% 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 Lincoln County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 17,539. The 2020 Census counted 10,876, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Lincoln County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lincoln County ranks 4th of the eight; Ferry County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County, WA | 68 | 14.4% | 23.3% |
| Grant County, WA | 62 | 16.8% | 25.2% |
| Okanogan County, WA | 60 | 21.7% | 32.4% |
| Ferry County, WA | 43 | 16.3% | 40.1% |
| Stevens County, WA | 41 | 13.6% | 33.2% |
| Spokane County, WA | 40 | 10.8% | 22.9% |
| Lincoln County, WA | 39 | 13.2% | 31.4% |
| Whitman County, WA | 38 | 23.0% | 19.7% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 11th 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, Lincoln County ranks 23rd of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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.
-
Northwest Justice Project (NJP)
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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.