About one in seven people with a credit file in Burnett County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Burnett County, 13.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Burnett County's score
In Burnett County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 63.3. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 17.3. People with a credit card behind: 1.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Burnett 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, Burnett County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202683rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
-
- 45.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.6% · 202427th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability18.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,340 · 202454th percentile
-
- 34.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.5% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people140.4 · 202556th percentile
-
- 33.3 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 rent15.8% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.9% · fiscal year 202730th percentile
-
- 17.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.6% · second quarter of 20269th 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 Burnett 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 Burnett County, 32.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Burnett County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Burnett County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 33.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Burnett County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Burnett County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.3% in 2011 to 14.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Burnett County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 8.7% 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, Burnett County, Wisconsin.
How Burnett County has changed
Burnett County's population doubled to 17,187, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 15,433. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Burnett County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Burnett County nearly doubled to 5,212, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 5,139. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Burnett County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 10.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,847 | 2024 $65,340 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Burnett County's history
1953
A tornado in May 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in June 2001 did $10 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Lightning in July 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 16,526, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1976
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Burnett County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Burnett County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Burnett County, in Wisconsin and Minnesota, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Burnett County ranks 2nd of the seven; Pine County is highest, at 34.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine County, MN | 46 | 13.5% | 34.4% |
| Burnett County, WI | 30 | 10.6% | 33.6% |
| Douglas County, WI | 26 | 11.9% | 28.0% |
| Chisago County, MN | 25 | 6.4% | 20.3% |
| Washburn County, WI | 21 | 11.2% | 33.3% |
| Polk County, WI | 14 | 9.1% | 24.7% |
| Barron County, WI | 11 | 10.2% | 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 Burnett County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Burnett County's poverty rate was 10.6% in 2024, 33rd 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, Burnett County ranks 11th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Burnett 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 Burnett 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 Burnett County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.