About one in eight people with a credit file in Oneida County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Oneida County, 13.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Oneida County's score
In Oneida County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 28.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 19.5. People with a credit card behind: 3.0%, August 2025, lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Oneida 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.
Oneida 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.
- 28.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
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- 25.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.5% · 202418th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.3% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability14.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,870 · 202438th percentile
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- 24.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.3% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people99.4 · 202535th percentile
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- 23.6 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 rent14.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th percentile
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- 19.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.2% · second quarter of 202610th 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 Oneida 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 Oneida County, 28.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Oneida County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Oneida County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Oneida County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Oneida County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 2010 to 9.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Oneida County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.4% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Oneida County, Wisconsin.
How Oneida County has changed
Oneida County's population rose by more than half to 38,175, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 27,651. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Oneida County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Oneida County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 17,262, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 17,704 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Oneida County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.0% | 2024 9.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,447 | 2024 $70,870 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Oneida County's history
1887
Formed 1887 from sections of Lincoln County. Wikipedia
1950
A tornado in June 1950 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
A tornado in June 1985 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
Lightning in September 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 37,845, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Oneida County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Oneida County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Oneida County, four score higher. Of the group, Oneida County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Price County gets the largest, at 34.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest County, WI | 44 | 15.7% | 33.8% |
| Langlade County, WI | 35 | 14.3% | 30.9% |
| Price County, WI | 21 | 12.2% | 34.7% |
| Vilas County, WI | 12 | 10.4% | 27.9% |
| Lincoln County, WI | 9 | 9.3% | 28.1% |
| Oneida County, WI | 9 | 9.5% | 27.8% |
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 Oneida County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Oneida County's poverty rate was 9.5% in 2024, 45th 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, Oneida County ranks 44th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Oneida 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 Oneida 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 Oneida County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.