About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Brown County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Brown County, 12.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brown County's score
In Brown County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 42.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 10.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brown 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.
Brown 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.
- 42.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.3% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people164.7 · 202564th percentile
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- 40.0 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 rent17.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202732nd percentile
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- 14.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.2% · 20249th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.8% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability11.8% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,803 · 202419th percentile
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- 11.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.1% · second quarter of 20268th percentile
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- 10.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.6% · 2020 to 20247th 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 Brown 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 Brown County, 16.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brown County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brown County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Brown County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brown County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 7.0% in 2010 to 8.5% in 2011; 11.3% in 2017 to 9.8% in 2018.
The share of households in Brown County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 10.5%
Low on the chart: 6.0% 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, Brown County, Wisconsin.
How Brown County has changed
Brown County's population had its largest rise, from 192,235 in 1989 to 210,650 in 1994.
Brown County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 273,909, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 273,909. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brown County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Brown County rose by more than half to 160,329, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 123,259. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brown County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.9% | 2024 8.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,808 | 2024 $80,803 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Brown County's history
1818
Created 1818 by Michigan Territorial legislature. Wikipedia
1959
A tornado in May 1959 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in August 2013 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 did $1.12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 268,740, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A thunderstorm in June 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brown County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brown County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Brown County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Brown County ranks 6th of the seven; Shawano County is highest, at 24.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawano County, WI | 15 | 10.8% | 24.9% |
| Brown County, WI | 8 | 8.2% | 16.2% |
| Manitowoc County, WI | 5 | 9.5% | 23.6% |
| Oconto County, WI | 5 | 8.5% | 23.5% |
| Outagamie County, WI | 3 | 6.6% | 16.4% |
| Kewaunee County, WI | 1 | 7.4% | 22.3% |
| Calumet County, WI | 0 | 5.8% | 13.6% |
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 Brown County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Brown County's poverty rate was 8.2% in 2024, 59th 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, Brown County ranks 46th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brown 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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Catholic Charities Diocese of Green Bay
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Neighborworks Green Bay
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Brown County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.