About two in five people with a credit file in Menominee County, Wisconsin, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Menominee County, 42.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Menominee County's score
In Menominee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 16.4%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 86.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Menominee 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.
Menominee County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (118.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind16.4% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score58.6% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 86.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 85.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.4% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line38.5% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance20.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,423 · 202487th percentile
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- 74.7 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 rent22.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 70.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.6% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people118.3 · 202546th 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 Menominee 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 Menominee County, 16.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Menominee County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Menominee County had its largest rise, from 29.4% in 2004 to 39.6% in 2009.
In Menominee County, pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1989
In Menominee County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1989 to 2024, reaching 36.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Menominee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.4% in 2011 to 22.2% in 2012.
The share of households in Menominee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 15.2% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Menominee County, Wisconsin.
How Menominee County has changed
Menominee County's population rose 11% from 1989 to 2024, with most of the change between 1989 and 1994
High on the chart: 4,545 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Menominee County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Menominee County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,023, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,130 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Menominee County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.3% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 34.1% | 2024 24.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1993 $16,276 | 2024 $52,423 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Menominee County's history
1959
Created on July 3, 1959 from the northeastern portion of seven townships of Shawano County and the western three townships of Oconto County, in anticipation of the termination of the Menominee Indian Reservation in 1961. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 4,562. The 2020 Census counted 4,255, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A tornado in June 2007 did $2.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A thunderstorm in August 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in July 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Menominee County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Menominee County beside its neighbors
Menominee County scores higher than all three counties that border it. Of the group, Menominee County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (36.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menominee County, WI | 96 | 24.4% | 36.3% |
| Langlade County, WI | 35 | 14.3% | 30.9% |
| Shawano County, WI | 15 | 10.8% | 24.9% |
| 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 Menominee County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
Yes, Menominee County's poverty rate was 24.4% in 2024, the highest of 72 counties in Wisconsin (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Menominee County ranks 1st of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Menominee 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 Menominee 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 Menominee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.