About one in 11 people in Dane County, Wisconsin, has a disability
In Dane County, 9.2% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dane County's score
In Dane County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 60.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 6.8. About one in eight adults aged 25 to 54 (11.9%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dane 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.
Dane 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.
- 60.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
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- 23.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.5% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people108.5 · 202540th percentile
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- 13.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score22.7% · second quarter of 20261st percentile
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- 8.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.6% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability9.2% · 2020 to 20242nd percentile
- People without health insurance3.6% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$91,479 · 20249th percentile
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- 6.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.9% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Dane 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 Dane County, 15.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dane County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dane County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 11.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Dane County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dane County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (4.4% in 2009) to 5.7% in 2010.
The share of households in Dane County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 8.1%
Low on the chart: 4.4% 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, Dane County, Wisconsin.
How Dane County has changed
Dane County's population had its largest rise, from 360,913 in 1989 to 400,783 in 1994.
Dane County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 588,347, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 318,025. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dane County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dane County nearly doubled to 361,286, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 361,286. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dane County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.0% | 2025 2.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.3% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,986 | 2024 $91,479 |
The table uses 2.6% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Dane County's history
1836
Formed in 1836 as territorial county, organized in 1839. Wikipedia
1967
A tornado in August 1967 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in August 2005 did $34.31 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Oscar Mayer headquarters and manufacturing facility shuttered in Madison. Wikipedia
2018
A flood in August 2018 did $32.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 561,504, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dane County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dane County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Dane County, two score higher. Of the group, Dane County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Rock County gets the largest, at 21.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock County, WI | 32 | 9.9% | 21.6% |
| Sauk County, WI | 14 | 8.6% | 18.2% |
| Dane County, WI | 7 | 9.9% | 11.8% |
| Jefferson County, WI | 6 | 7.7% | 19.7% |
| Dodge County, WI | 5 | 9.2% | 21.1% |
| Columbia County, WI | 4 | 6.7% | 16.4% |
| Iowa County, WI | 1 | 8.7% | 18.3% |
| Green County, WI | 1 | 8.4% | 18.4% |
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 Dane County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Dane County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 40th 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, Dane County ranks 48th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dane 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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Foundation for Rural Housing Inc
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 Dane County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.