About one in seven people with a credit file in Stevens County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Stevens 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 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stevens County's score
In Stevens County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 89.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 24.4. About three in ten people (31.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 81% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stevens 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, Stevens County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and adults 25 to 54 not working (29.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.4 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 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.3% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 49.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.1% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,312 · 202442nd percentile
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- 34.3 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th percentile
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- 26.7 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 people104.4 · 202538th percentile
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- 24.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.6% · second quarter of 202618th 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 Stevens 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 Stevens County, 25.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stevens County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Stevens County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Stevens County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stevens County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (11.0% in 2009) to 13.9% in 2010.
The share of households in Stevens 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: 11.0% 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, Stevens County, Washington.
How Stevens County has changed
Stevens County's population tripled to 49,015, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 36,223. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stevens County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Stevens County rose by about half to 11,227, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 9,160. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stevens County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 5.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.0% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,950 | 2024 $69,312 |
The table uses 5.9% 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 Stevens County's history
1863
Created January 20, 1863. Wikipedia
2017
A flood in March 2017 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 46,445, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stevens County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stevens County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Stevens County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stevens County ranks 3rd of the five; Ferry County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferry County, WA | 43 | 16.3% | 40.1% |
| 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% |
| Lincoln County, WA | 39 | 13.2% | 31.4% |
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 Stevens County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Stevens County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 10th 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, Stevens County ranks 21st of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stevens 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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Rural Resources Community Action
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 Stevens 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 Stevens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.