About one in six people with a credit file in Spokane County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Spokane County, 16.4% 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 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Spokane County's score
In Spokane County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 67.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 25.8. The typical household earns $85,192 a year (2024), more than in 85% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Spokane 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, Spokane County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (23.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.6 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 rent23.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 59.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
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- 38.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.4% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people130.4 · 202551st percentile
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- 31.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.8% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 25.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,192 · 202414th 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 Spokane 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 Spokane County, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Spokane County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Spokane County had its largest rise, from 17.7% in 2004 to 22.2% in 2009.
In Spokane County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Spokane County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Spokane County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 13.0% in 2010 to 15.8% in 2012, 1.4 points each year.
The share of households in Spokane County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 15.8%
Low on the chart: 11.8% 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, Spokane County, Washington.
How Spokane County has changed
Spokane County's population had its largest rise, from 488,423 in 2014 to 533,712 in 2019.
Spokane County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 555,947, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 356,270. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Spokane County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Spokane County nearly doubled to 243,704, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 243,704. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Spokane County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.8% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,657 | 2024 $85,192 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Spokane County's history
1858
January 29, 1858 (created) January 19, 1864 (annexed to Stevens Co.) October 30, 1879 (separated from Stevens Co.). Wikipedia
2014
A thunderstorm in July 2014 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in August 2014 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A thunderstorm in May 2016 did $4,800,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in March 2017 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 539,339, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Spokane County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Spokane County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Spokane County, in Washington and Idaho, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Spokane County ranks 6th of the eight; Pend Oreille County is highest, at 35.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benewah County, ID | 61 | 12.9% | 32.7% |
| 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% |
| Lincoln County, WA | 39 | 13.2% | 31.4% |
| Whitman County, WA | 38 | 23.0% | 19.7% |
| Kootenai County, ID | 32 | 9.0% | 19.8% |
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 Spokane County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Spokane County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 23rd 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, Spokane County ranks 22nd of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Spokane 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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Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Spokane 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 Spokane County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.