About one in seven people with a credit file in Skamania County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Skamania County, 14.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Skamania County's score
In Skamania County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 77.7. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 1.6%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Skamania 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, Skamania County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (25.1%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.7 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 rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.1% · fiscal year 202783rd percentile
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- 50.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.4% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
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- 27.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.3% · 202424th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance6.5% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$89,706 · 202411th percentile
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- 24.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.1% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people94.9 · 202533rd percentile
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- 5.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.9% · second quarter of 20266th 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 Skamania 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 Skamania County, 24.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Skamania County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Skamania County had its largest rise, from 16.7% in 2004 to 21.2% in 2009.
In Skamania County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Skamania County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Skamania County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.3% in 2012 to 16.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Skamania County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.5% 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, Skamania County, Washington.
How Skamania County has changed
Skamania County's population had its largest rise, from 6,495 in 1974 to 7,496 in 1979.
Skamania County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12,660, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 7,679. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Skamania County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Skamania County rose by about a fifth to 2,235, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 2,235. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Skamania County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.7% | 2024 10.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,219 | 2024 $89,706 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Skamania County's history
1854
Founded March 9, 1854. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 12,036, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Skamania County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Skamania County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Skamania County, in Washington and Oregon, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Skamania County ranks 5th of the eight; Klickitat County is highest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 69 | 16.7% | 27.9% |
| Lewis County, WA | 56 | 10.6% | 28.6% |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 51 | 10.6% | 27.4% |
| Multnomah County, OR | 49 | 12.7% | 16.1% |
| Klickitat County, WA | 46 | 12.2% | 29.1% |
| Clark County, WA | 37 | 7.8% | 16.8% |
| 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 Skamania County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Skamania County's poverty rate was 10.3% in 2024, 30th 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, Skamania County ranks 35th of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Skamania 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 Skamania 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 Skamania County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.