About one in seven people with a credit file in Florence County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Florence 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 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Florence County's score
In Florence County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 43.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.1. People with a credit card behind: 0.8%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Florence 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.
Florence 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.
- 43.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 41.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.3% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,049 · 202438th percentile
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- 14.9 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 people64.1 · 202516th percentile
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- 14.5 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 rent8.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202720th percentile
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- 5.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind0.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.3% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Florence 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 Florence County, 29.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Florence County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Florence County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 26.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Florence County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Florence County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 13.3%, with most of the change between 2009 and 2010
High on the chart: 14.1% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Florence County, Wisconsin.
How Florence County has changed
Florence County's population had its largest rise, from 4,484 in 1989 to 5,135 in 1994.
Florence County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1994 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 5,135 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Florence County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Florence County rose most sharply from its first year (843 in 1990) to 1,045 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Florence County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 1,109 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Florence County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,764 | 2024 $71,049 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Florence County's history
1874
Florence iron mine discovered in 1874 by H.D. Fisher. Wikipedia
1882
Created in 1882 from portions of Marinette and Oconto counties. Wikipedia
1999
A flash flood in July 1999 did $1.58 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 5,088. The 2020 Census counted 4,558, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Florence County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Florence County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Florence County, in Wisconsin and Michigan, score higher than it does. Of the group, Florence County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Iron County gets the largest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MI | 57 | 14.2% | 43.1% |
| Forest County, WI | 44 | 15.7% | 33.8% |
| Dickinson County, MI | 27 | 11.2% | 31.7% |
| Marinette County, WI | 19 | 11.8% | 31.9% |
| Florence County, WI | 8 | 10.2% | 26.5% |
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 Florence County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Florence County's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 38th 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, Florence County ranks 45th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Florence 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.
Download the CSV for Florence 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 Florence County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.