About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Iron County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Iron County, 12.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Iron County's score
In Iron County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 48.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 17.6. About one in eight people with a credit file (12.4%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iron 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.
Even so, Iron County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 48.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.9% · second quarter of 202641st percentile
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- 47.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.0% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 42.1 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 line15.8% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,564 · 202469th percentile
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- 41.7 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 rent16.5% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd percentile
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- 17.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.4% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people80.3 · 202525th 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 Iron 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 Iron County, 33.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Iron County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Iron County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 36% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Iron County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (8.0% in 2009) to 11.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.0% 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, Iron County, Wisconsin.
How Iron County has changed
Iron County's population had its largest rise, from 6,130 in 1989 to 6,712 in 1994.
Iron County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 6,847 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iron County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Iron County had its largest rise, from 1,743 in 1990 to 2,278 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Iron County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 2,327 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iron County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.6% | 2024 11.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,047 | 2024 $60,564 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Iron County's history
1893
Created in 1893. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 10,261. The 2020 Census counted 6,137, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
Lightning in August 2013 did $1,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in July 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iron County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Iron County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Iron County, in Wisconsin and Michigan, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Iron County ranks 3rd of the five; Gogebic County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gogebic County, MI | 55 | 17.5% | 40.1% |
| Iron County, WI | 31 | 11.9% | 33.9% |
| Ashland County, WI | 26 | 13.2% | 33.4% |
| Price County, WI | 21 | 12.2% | 34.7% |
| Vilas County, WI | 12 | 10.4% | 27.9% |
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 Iron County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Iron 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, Iron County ranks 10th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Iron 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 Iron County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.