About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Adams County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Adams County, 16.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Adams County's score
In Adams County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 52.7. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 45.4. About one in five people with a credit file (19.6%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 63% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Adams 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, Adams County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (21.7%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 52.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202682nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 50.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability21.7% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance4.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,027 · 202467th percentile
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- 48.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.2% · second quarter of 202633rd percentile
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- 46.0 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st percentile
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- 45.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.6% · August 202536th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people135.2 · 202553rd 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 Adams 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 Adams County, 32.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Adams County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Adams County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 36% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Adams County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Adams County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.9% in 2019 to 15.0% in 2020.
The share of households in Adams County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 14.6%
Low on the chart: 9.7% 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, Adams County, Wisconsin.
How Adams County has changed
Adams County's population more than doubled to 21,352, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 11,242. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Adams County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Adams County had its largest rise, from 2,813 in 1990 to 3,406 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Adams County rose by more than half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,411
High on the chart: 4,616 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Adams County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.5% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,765 | 2024 $61,027 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Adams County's history
1848
Created 1848, organized 1853. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in July 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 20,875. The 2020 Census counted 20,654, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $3.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A thunderstorm in August 2018 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Adams County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Adams County beside its neighbors
Adams County scores higher than all six counties that border it. Of the group, Adams County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (34.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County, WI | 47 | 12.1% | 34.1% |
| Marquette County, WI | 22 | 12.2% | 30.2% |
| Juneau County, WI | 21 | 10.4% | 30.0% |
| Waushara County, WI | 19 | 11.1% | 28.3% |
| Wood County, WI | 15 | 11.3% | 26.5% |
| Portage County, WI | 4 | 10.5% | 21.0% |
| Columbia County, WI | 4 | 6.7% | 16.4% |
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 Adams County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Adams County's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 18th highest of 72 in Wisconsin (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Menominee County, at 24.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Adams County ranks 4th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Adams 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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Legal Action of Wisconsin
Legal aid
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Disability Rights Wisconsin
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.
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 Adams County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.