About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Ashland County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Ashland County, 17.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 71% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ashland County's score
In Ashland County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 50.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 28.7. People with a car or retail loan behind: 3.2%, August 2025, lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ashland 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.
Ashland County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.7% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,524 · 202465th percentile
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- 38.8 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 working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 33.4 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 rent14.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 30.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.1% · August 202538th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people74.6 · 202522nd percentile
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- 28.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202517th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.1% · second quarter of 202629th 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 Ashland 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 Ashland County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ashland County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ashland County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Ashland County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ashland County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (12.4% in 2009) to 15.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Ashland County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 12.4% 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, Ashland County, Wisconsin.
How Ashland County has changed
Ashland County's population fell 6% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 17,188 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ashland County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Ashland County rose most sharply from its first year (6,688 in 1990) to 8,007 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Ashland County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 8,938 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ashland County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.3% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,051 | 2024 $61,524 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Ashland County's history
1860
Created March 27, 1860, from La Pointe County. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 24,538. The 2020 Census counted 16,027, 65% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A flood in July 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flash flood in June 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ashland County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ashland County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Ashland County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ashland County ranks 3rd of the five; Price County is highest, at 34.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, WI | 31 | 11.9% | 33.9% |
| Sawyer County, WI | 30 | 13.3% | 32.2% |
| Ashland County, WI | 26 | 13.2% | 33.4% |
| Price County, WI | 21 | 12.2% | 34.7% |
| Bayfield County, WI | 14 | 12.2% | 28.3% |
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 Ashland County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Ashland County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 11th 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, Ashland County ranks 15th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ashland 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.
Download the CSV for Ashland 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 Ashland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.