About one in nine people in Grant County, Wisconsin, has a disability
In Grant County, 11.3% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant County's score
In Grant County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 33.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.0. People with a credit card behind: 2.5%, August 2025, lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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.
Grant 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.
- 33.6 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 rent19.3% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.5% · fiscal year 202710th percentile
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- 32.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.9% · 202439th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.1% · 202428th percentile
- People with a disability11.3% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance8.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,612 · 202431st percentile
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- 21.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.4% · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people77.8 · 202523rd percentile
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- 14.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.5% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.6% · second quarter of 20267th 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 Grant 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 Grant County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grant County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Grant County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Grant County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.1% in 2012 to 8.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid tripled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.6%
High on the chart: 10.6% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grant County, Wisconsin.
How Grant County has changed
Grant County's population rose 8% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 49,344. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grant County rose 11% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 17,723 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.1% | 2024 11.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,955 | 2024 $73,612 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Grant County's history
2001
Lightning in August 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A thunderstorm in July 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flash flood in June 2013 did $7.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in June 2014 did $20.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 51,938, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Grant County, in Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grant County ranks 3rd of the eight; Crawford County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford County, WI | 19 | 12.9% | 29.6% |
| Richland County, WI | 17 | 13.0% | 27.0% |
| Dubuque County, IA | 12 | 11.0% | 19.4% |
| Grant County, WI | 9 | 11.9% | 24.0% |
| Jo Daviess County, IL | 8 | 9.8% | 23.6% |
| Clayton County, IA | 7 | 9.7% | 23.8% |
| Lafayette County, WI | 6 | 12.5% | 20.2% |
| Iowa County, WI | 1 | 8.7% | 18.3% |
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 Grant County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Grant County's poverty rate was 11.9% in 2024, 19th 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, Grant County ranks 42nd of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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 Grant County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.