About one in 12 people with a credit file in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Buffalo County, 8.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Buffalo County's score
In Buffalo County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 26.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 1.3%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Buffalo 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.
Buffalo 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.
- 26.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
-
- 24.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.6% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,901 · 202436th percentile
-
- 15.6 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th percentile
-
- 13.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people74.5 · 202521st percentile
-
- 5.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.5% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.6% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
-
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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County, 24.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Buffalo County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Buffalo County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Buffalo County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Buffalo County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.3% in 2020 to 9.3% in 2021.
The share of households in Buffalo County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.5%
High on the chart: 10.8% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
How Buffalo County has changed
Buffalo County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1979 high, from 13,825 in 1974 to 14,513 in 1979.
Buffalo County's population fell 4% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 14,513 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Buffalo County had its largest drop, from 4,697 in 2010 to 3,740 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Buffalo County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 37% since
High on the chart: 5,446 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.9% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,093 | 2024 $71,901 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Buffalo County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 16,765. The 2020 Census counted 13,317, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1953
A tornado in May 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in September 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $4.18 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Buffalo County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Buffalo County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Buffalo County, in Wisconsin and Minnesota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Buffalo County ranks 3rd of the six; Pepin County is highest, at 25.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winona County, MN | 11 | 13.3% | 22.1% |
| Eau Claire County, WI | 8 | 10.8% | 19.4% |
| Pepin County, WI | 5 | 11.0% | 25.9% |
| Trempealeau County, WI | 4 | 9.4% | 24.4% |
| Buffalo County, WI | 3 | 8.8% | 25.1% |
| Wabasha County, MN | 3 | 7.0% | 25.3% |
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 Buffalo County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Buffalo County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 53rd 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, Buffalo County ranks 64th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Buffalo 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.
-
Legal Action of Wisconsin
Legal aid
-
Disability Rights Wisconsin
Legal aid
-
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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.