About one in eight people with a credit file in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bayfield County, 12.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bayfield County's score
In Bayfield County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 57.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 12.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bayfield 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.
Bayfield 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.
- 57.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
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- 42.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.9% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,352 · 202437th 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 behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.6% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.6% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
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- 14.7 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 rent11.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202713th percentile
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- 12.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.7% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people59.6 · 202514th 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 Bayfield 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 Bayfield County, 31.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bayfield County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bayfield County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 28.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Bayfield County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bayfield County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.4% in 2011 to 11.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Bayfield County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 11.6%
Low on the chart: 8.0% 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, Bayfield County, Wisconsin.
How Bayfield County has changed
Bayfield County's population rose 41% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 13,531. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bayfield County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bayfield County rose 37% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 4,295. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bayfield County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.5% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,201 | 2024 $71,352 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Bayfield County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 17,201. The 2020 Census counted 16,220, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
1999
A thunderstorm in July 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A thunderstorm in July 2006 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in July 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flash flood in June 2018 did $2.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bayfield County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bayfield County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Bayfield County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bayfield County ranks 3rd of the four; Ashland County is highest, at 33.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawyer County, WI | 30 | 13.3% | 32.2% |
| Douglas County, WI | 26 | 11.9% | 28.0% |
| Ashland County, WI | 26 | 13.2% | 33.4% |
| 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 Bayfield County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Bayfield County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 15th 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, Bayfield County ranks 28th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bayfield 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 Bayfield 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 Bayfield County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.