About one in eight people with a credit file in Skagit County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Skagit County, 11.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Skagit County's score
In Skagit County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 69.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 18.9. About three in ten people (30.5%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 85% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Skagit 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, Skagit County is worse off than most counties on 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.
- 69.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 62.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 27.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.4% · 202424th percentile
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$89,774 · 202410th percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.9% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people117.2 · 202545th percentile
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- 18.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202521st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.5% · 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 Skagit 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 Skagit County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Skagit County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Skagit County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Skagit County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Skagit County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.1% in 2010 to 12.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Skagit 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: 8.7% 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, Skagit County, Washington.
How Skagit County has changed
Skagit County's population had its largest rise, from 76,054 in 1989 to 91,829 in 1994.
Skagit County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 132,736, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 54,151. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Skagit County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Skagit County nearly doubled to 54,140, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 43,881. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Skagit County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,498 | 2024 $89,774 |
The table uses 4.7% 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 Skagit County's history
2006
A flood in November 2006 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in January 2009 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 129,523, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flood in November 2021 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flood in November 2021 did $3 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Skagit County, 21 of them for flooding. FEMA
Skagit County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Skagit County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Skagit County ranks 2nd of the five; Okanogan County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okanogan County, WA | 60 | 21.7% | 32.4% |
| Snohomish County, WA | 36 | 8.6% | 13.1% |
| Whatcom County, WA | 34 | 11.4% | 19.9% |
| Skagit County, WA | 34 | 9.8% | 22.1% |
| Chelan County, WA | 20 | 10.2% | 21.7% |
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 Skagit County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Skagit County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 32nd 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, Skagit County ranks 32nd of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Skagit 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 Skagit 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 Skagit County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.