About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Marinette County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Marinette County, 14.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Marinette County's score
In Marinette County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 46.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 13.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.5%, August 2025, lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Marinette 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.
Marinette 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.
- 46.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.8% · August 202525th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people168.6 · 202566th percentile
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- 38.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.1% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,731 · 202455th percentile
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- 38.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 24.3 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 rent12.0% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 13.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.5% · second quarter of 202621st 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 Marinette 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 Marinette County, 25.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Marinette County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Marinette County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Marinette County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Marinette County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.8% in 2011 to 12.7% in 2012.
The share of households in Marinette County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 12.1%
Low on the chart: 8.9% 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, Marinette County, Wisconsin.
How Marinette County has changed
Marinette County's population had its largest rise, from 37,912 in 1979 to 40,050 in 1984.
Marinette County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42,343
High on the chart: 43,226 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Marinette County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Marinette County had its largest rise, from 17,090 in 1995 to 18,945 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Marinette County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 19,290 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Marinette County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,594 | 2024 $64,731 |
The table uses 4.1% 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 Marinette County's history
1879
Founded in 1879. Wikipedia
1968
A tornado in August 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 43,384. The 2020 Census counted 41,872, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in August 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in April 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A tornado in June 2022 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Marinette County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Marinette County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Marinette County, in Wisconsin and Michigan, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Marinette County ranks 3rd of the six; Forest County is highest, at 33.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest County, WI | 44 | 15.7% | 33.8% |
| Menominee County, MI | 36 | 13.0% | 31.9% |
| Dickinson County, MI | 27 | 11.2% | 31.7% |
| Marinette County, WI | 19 | 11.8% | 31.9% |
| 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 Marinette County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Marinette County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 22nd 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, Marinette County ranks 22nd of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Marinette 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 Marinette 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 Marinette County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.