About one in six people with a credit file in Forest County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Forest County, 18.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 69% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Forest County's score
In Forest County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 69.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 23.1. People with a credit card behind: 3.2%, August 2025, lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Forest 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.
Forest 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.
- 69.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 64.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.7% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.4% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance7.7% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,251 · 202463rd percentile
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- 38.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.1% · August 202531st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people118 · 202545th percentile
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- 36.8 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 rent15.9% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th percentile
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- 23.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.0% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.8% · second quarter of 202640th 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 Forest 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 Forest County, 25.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Forest County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Forest County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 33.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Forest County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Forest County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.1% in 2013 to 16.9% in 2014.
The share of households in Forest County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 15.0%
Low on the chart: 8.6% 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, Forest County, Wisconsin.
How Forest County has changed
Forest County's population had its largest rise, from 7,749 in 1969 to 8,483 in 1974.
Forest County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9,506
High on the chart: 9,955 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Forest County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Forest County rose by more than half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,222, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 3,424 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Forest County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.8% | 2024 15.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,205 | 2024 $62,251 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Forest County's history
1885
Created in 1885 from portions of Langlade and Oconto counties. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 11,805. The 2020 Census counted 9,179, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
A tornado in May 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Forest County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Forest County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Forest County, in Wisconsin and Michigan, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Forest County ranks 2nd of the eight; Iron County is highest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MI | 57 | 14.2% | 43.1% |
| Forest County, WI | 44 | 15.7% | 33.8% |
| Langlade County, WI | 35 | 14.3% | 30.9% |
| Marinette County, WI | 19 | 11.8% | 31.9% |
| Vilas County, WI | 12 | 10.4% | 27.9% |
| Oneida County, WI | 9 | 9.5% | 27.8% |
| Florence County, WI | 8 | 10.2% | 26.5% |
| Oconto County, WI | 5 | 8.5% | 23.5% |
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 Forest County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Forest County's poverty rate was 15.7% in 2024, 3rd 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, Forest County ranks 5th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Forest 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 Forest 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 Forest County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.