About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Dodge County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Dodge County, 11.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dodge County's score
In Dodge County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 43.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 6.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dodge 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.
Dodge 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.
- 43.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.2% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people171.1 · 202567th percentile
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- 21.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.4% · second quarter of 202617th percentile
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- 15.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.2% · 202416th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.7% · 202411th percentile
- People with a disability12.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,999 · 202421st percentile
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- 14.9 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 6.6 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 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.4% · 2020 to 20244th 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 Dodge 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 Dodge County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dodge County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dodge County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Dodge County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dodge County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.4% in 2012 to 8.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Dodge County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.7%
High on the chart: 10.9% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dodge County, Wisconsin.
How Dodge County has changed
Dodge County's population had its largest rise, from 79,507 in 1994 to 85,397 in 1999.
Dodge County's population rose 29% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 89,412 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dodge County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dodge County rose by about half to 36,866, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 31,181. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dodge County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.6% | 2024 9.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,781 | 2024 $78,999 |
The table uses 2.7% 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 Dodge County's history
1836
Created from Wisconsin Territory in 1836, organized in 1844. Wikipedia
1998
A thunderstorm in May 1998 did $3.71 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A tornado in June 2004 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in June 2008 did $6.57 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 89,396, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A tornado in May 2025 did $3.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dodge County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dodge County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Dodge County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dodge County ranks 2nd of the eight; Green Lake County is highest, at 26.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Lake County, WI | 23 | 13.6% | 26.2% |
| Fond du Lac County, WI | 9 | 9.1% | 20.8% |
| 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% |
| Washington County, WI | 2 | 6.3% | 16.2% |
| Waukesha County, WI | 2 | 5.5% | 13.0% |
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 Dodge County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Dodge County's poverty rate was 9.2% in 2024, 49th 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, Dodge County ranks 57th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dodge 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 Dodge County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.