About one in 17 people in Calumet County, Wisconsin, lives below the poverty line

In Calumet County, 5.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
72nd
of 72 counties in Wisconsin
3,128th of 3,144 U.S. counties
0score /100

Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.

What drives Calumet County's score

In Calumet County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 23.3. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 3.3.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calumet 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.

Calumet 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.

  • Housing costs

    Biggest factor
    23.3 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      16.4% · 2020 to 2024
      39th percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      15.9% · fiscal year 2027
      6th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    17.2 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      10.5% · August 2025
      4th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      88.3 · 2025
      30th percentile

  • Jobs

    6.2 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      2.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      5th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      12.2% · 2020 to 2024
      6th percentile

  • Late payments

    6.2 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      3.0% · August 2025
      10th percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      2.3% · August 2025
      6th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      21.2% · second quarter of 2026
      1st percentile

  • Income and safety net

    3.3 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      5.8% · 2024
      1st percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      5.7% · 2024
      1st percentile
    • People with a disability
      10.0% · 2020 to 2024
      4th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      2.6% · 2020 to 2024
      1st percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $94,597 · 2024
      7th 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 Calumet 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 Calumet County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Calumet County

69 18 14

Wisconsin

61 21 19

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

In Calumet County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 13.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks

In Calumet County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%40%80% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%40%80% 196919841994200420142024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, Calumet County, Wisconsin · American Default
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The share of households in Calumet County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.8% in 2020 to 6.0% in 2021.

The share of households in Calumet County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2023, reaching 6.4%, then turned down in 2024

High on the chart: 6.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Calumet County, Wisconsin.

0%4%7% 4.3%6.1% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%4%7% 4.3%6.1% 20092012201420162018202020222024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates · American Default
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How Calumet County has changed

Calumet County's population had its largest rise, from 40,276 in 1999 to 45,456 in 2004.

Calumet County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 53,602, with no dip in any year shown

Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 30,245. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calumet County, Wisconsin.

030,00060,000 26,88253,602 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 030,00060,000 26,88253,602 196919841994200420142024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts · American Default
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Data (CSV)
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The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.

The number of jobs located in Calumet County nearly doubled to 16,212, the highest on the chart

Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 13,477. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calumet County, Wisconsin.

010,00020,000 10,06316,212 19901995200020052010201520202025 010,00020,000 10,06316,212 1990200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · American Default
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Data (CSV)
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MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 6.6% 2025 2.5% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 4.9% 2024 5.8% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $33,435 2024 $94,597 Census SAIPE

The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.6% 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 Calumet County's history

  1. 1836

    Created 1836 in Wisconsin Territory, organized 1850. Wikipedia

  2. 1979

    A tornado in August 1979 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  3. 1997

    Lightning in June 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  4. 2000

    Hail in May 2000 did $32.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  5. 2002

    Hail in May 2002 did $4.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  6. 2020

    The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 52,442, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau

  7. Since 1976

    11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calumet County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA

Calumet County beside its neighbors

All six counties that border Calumet County score higher than it does. Of the group, Calumet County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Manitowoc County gets the largest, at 23.6%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Winnebago County, WI 12 34th of 72 9.8% 19.1%
Fond du Lac County, WI 9 43rd of 72 9.1% 20.8%
Brown County, WI 8 46th of 72 8.2% 16.2%
Sheboygan County, WI 6 50th of 72 8.3% 18.7%
Manitowoc County, WI 5 54th of 72 9.5% 23.6%
Outagamie County, WI 3 63rd of 72 6.6% 16.4%
Calumet County, WI 0 72nd of 72 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 Calumet County the poorest county in Wisconsin?

No, Calumet County's poverty rate was 5.8% in 2024, 70th 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, Calumet County ranks 72nd of 72 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Calumet 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.

Wisconsin foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Calumet County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Calumet County, Wisconsin, scores 0 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/wisconsin/calumet-county-wi/

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 Calumet County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.