About one in eight people in Clark County, Wisconsin, has a disability
In Clark County, 11.9% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clark County's score
In Clark County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 56.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 16.6. About one in seven people with a credit file (13.8%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 85% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clark 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, Clark County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (22.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.1% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance22.5% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,586 · 202453rd percentile
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- 31.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.2% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
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- 21.3 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 rent11.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
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- 19.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.5% · second quarter of 20269th percentile
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- 16.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.8% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people69 · 202518th 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 Clark 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 Clark 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
Clark County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clark County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Clark County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.8% in 2011 to 6.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.5%
High on the chart: 10.7% 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, Clark County, Wisconsin.
How Clark County has changed
Clark County's population rose 12% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 31,891. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clark County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Clark County rose by about half to 11,428, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 10,875. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clark County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,956 | 2024 $65,586 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Clark County's history
1853
Founded 1853, officially organized the following year. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 35,120. The 2020 Census counted 34,659, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
1937
Rural Electrification Administration funded Clark Electric Cooperative to install power lines across rural county. Wikipedia
1950
A tornado in June 1950 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1958
A tornado in June 1958 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1969
A tornado in June 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in September 2016 did $1.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clark County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clark County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Clark County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clark County ranks 4th of the seven; Wood County is highest, at 26.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, WI | 27 | 13.5% | 26.2% |
| Clark County, WI | 15 | 13.7% | 24.4% |
| Wood County, WI | 15 | 11.3% | 26.5% |
| Chippewa County, WI | 10 | 10.7% | 23.1% |
| Eau Claire County, WI | 8 | 10.8% | 19.4% |
| Marathon County, WI | 6 | 7.5% | 18.1% |
| Taylor County, WI | 4 | 10.5% | 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 Clark County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Clark County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 6th 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, Clark County ranks 25th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clark 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.
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 Clark County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.