About one in six people with a credit file in Pend Oreille County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pend Oreille County, 16.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pend Oreille County's score
In Pend Oreille County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 84.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 13.8. People with a credit card behind: 2.4%, August 2025, lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pend Oreille 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, Pend Oreille County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (20.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202692nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 61.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.0% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability20.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,189 · 202448th percentile
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- 41.9 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 rent9.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 29.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.1% · August 202523rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.5 · 202534th percentile
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- 13.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.3% · second quarter of 202627th 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 Pend Oreille 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 Pend Oreille County, 27.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pend Oreille County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pend Oreille County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 35.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Pend Oreille County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pend Oreille County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (13.4% in 2009) to 16.6% in 2010.
The share of households in Pend Oreille County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 13.4% 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, Pend Oreille County, Washington.
How Pend Oreille County has changed
Pend Oreille County's population more than doubled to 14,332, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 10,362. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pend Oreille County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pend Oreille County nearly doubled to 3,187, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 2,289. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pend Oreille County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.3% | 2025 5.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.5% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,477 | 2024 $67,189 |
The table uses 5.9% for 2025; the score uses 6.0% 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 Pend Oreille County's history
1911
Created from Stevens County, March 1, 1911, most recently formed county in state. Wikipedia
2008
A thunderstorm in August 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A thunderstorm in August 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in July 2014 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in May 2018 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 13,401, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pend Oreille County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pend Oreille County beside its neighbors
Pend Oreille County scores higher than all four counties that border it, in Washington and Idaho. Of the group, Pend Oreille County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (35.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pend Oreille County, WA | 43 | 15.1% | 35.4% |
| Stevens County, WA | 41 | 13.6% | 33.2% |
| Spokane County, WA | 40 | 10.8% | 22.9% |
| Bonner County, ID | 39 | 11.0% | 23.8% |
| Boundary County, ID | 24 | 12.3% | 28.3% |
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 Pend Oreille County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Pend Oreille County's poverty rate was 15.1% in 2024, 7th 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, Pend Oreille County ranks 19th of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pend Oreille 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 Pend Oreille 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 Pend Oreille County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.