About one in seven people with a credit file in Whitman County, Washington, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Whitman County, 13.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Whitman County's score
In Whitman County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 92.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 9.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 37.5 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Whitman 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, Whitman County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (37.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (23.0%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.6 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 rent37.2% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.5% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 51.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.0% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.5% · 202430th percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,641 · 202471st percentile
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- 47.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.2% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
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- 15.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.1% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 9.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.5% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people37.5 · 20255th 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 Whitman 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 Whitman County, 11.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Whitman County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Whitman County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 19.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Whitman County, Washington, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Whitman County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.8% in 2011 to 8.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Whitman County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 10.9%
Low on the chart: 4.5% 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, Whitman County, Washington.
How Whitman County has changed
Whitman County's population had its largest rise, from 36,412 in 1969 to 41,952 in 1974.
Whitman County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 48,399
High on the chart: 48,584 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Whitman County, Washington.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Whitman County rose by about half to 18,880, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 15,361. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Whitman County, Washington.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.6% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.3% | 2024 23.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,733 | 2024 $59,641 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Whitman County's history
2019
A flash flood in April 2019 did $1.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 47,973, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Whitman County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Whitman County beside its neighbors
Of the 10 counties that border Whitman County, in Washington and Idaho, eight score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Whitman County ranks 10th of the 11; Garfield County is highest, at 34.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County, WA | 68 | 14.4% | 23.3% |
| Benewah County, ID | 61 | 12.9% | 32.7% |
| Columbia County, WA | 52 | 12.4% | 33.5% |
| Garfield County, WA | 50 | 12.9% | 34.1% |
| Franklin County, WA | 46 | 14.0% | 20.9% |
| Asotin County, WA | 44 | 12.3% | 31.0% |
| Spokane County, WA | 40 | 10.8% | 22.9% |
| Lincoln County, WA | 39 | 13.2% | 31.4% |
| Whitman County, WA | 38 | 23.0% | 19.7% |
| Latah County, ID | 22 | 17.3% | 17.8% |
| Nez Perce County, ID | 22 | 10.6% | 24.6% |
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 Whitman County the poorest county in Washington?
Yes, Whitman County's poverty rate was 23.0% in 2024, the highest of 39 counties in Washington (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Whitman County ranks 27th of 39 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Whitman 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 Whitman 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 Whitman County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.