In Lafayette County, Wisconsin, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Lafayette County, 15.9% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lafayette County's score
In Lafayette County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 41.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 1.4%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lafayette 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.
Lafayette 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.
- 41.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.7% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability11.4% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- People without health insurance10.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,636 · 202426th percentile
-
- 24.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.9% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people88.5 · 202530th percentile
-
- 16.6 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 rent13.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.9% · fiscal year 20276th percentile
-
- 13.3 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 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
-
- 10.1 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 behind1.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.4% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
-
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 Lafayette 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 Lafayette County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lafayette County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lafayette County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Lafayette County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lafayette County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.6% in 2013 to 10.1% in 2014.
The share of households in Lafayette 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: 5.0% 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, Lafayette County, Wisconsin.
How Lafayette County has changed
Lafayette County's population had its largest drop, from 17,020 in 1984 to 16,248 in 1989.
Lafayette County's population fell 7% from 1969 to 2019, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 17,947 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lafayette County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Lafayette County had its largest rise in the last span, from 4,111 in 2020 to 4,934 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Lafayette County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,934, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,575. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lafayette County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.9% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,989 | 2024 $76,636 |
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 Lafayette County's history
1846
Created in 1846. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 20,959. The 2020 Census counted 16,611, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1967
A tornado in April 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in May 1998 did $1.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Hail in April 2006 did $2.38 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Hail in April 2006 did $2.38 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1969
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lafayette County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lafayette County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lafayette County, in Wisconsin and Illinois, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lafayette County ranks 4th of the six; Stephenson County is highest, at 27.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephenson County, IL | 44 | 14.1% | 27.8% |
| Grant County, WI | 9 | 11.9% | 24.0% |
| Jo Daviess County, IL | 8 | 9.8% | 23.6% |
| Lafayette County, WI | 6 | 12.5% | 20.2% |
| Iowa County, WI | 1 | 8.7% | 18.3% |
| Green County, WI | 1 | 8.4% | 18.4% |
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 Lafayette County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Lafayette County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 14th 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, Lafayette County ranks 52nd of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lafayette 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.
-
Legal Action of Wisconsin
Legal aid
-
Disability Rights Wisconsin
Legal aid
-
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 Lafayette 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 Lafayette County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.