About one in 15 people in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, lives below the poverty line
In Outagamie County, 6.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Outagamie County's score
In Outagamie County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 35.7. Jobs are the lowest part, at 8.5. About one in nine adults aged 25 to 54 (11.5%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Outagamie 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.
Outagamie 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.
- 35.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.8% · August 202510th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people152.7 · 202560th percentile
-
- 26.3 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 rent14.5% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202723rd percentile
-
- 10.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.0% · second quarter of 20263rd percentile
-
- 8.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.6% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.9% · 20243rd percentile
- People with a disability11.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$82,847 · 202416th percentile
-
- 8.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.5% · 2020 to 20244th 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 Outagamie 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 Outagamie County, 16.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Outagamie County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Outagamie County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Outagamie County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Outagamie County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.7% in 2013 to 7.9% in 2014.
The share of households in Outagamie County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.2%
High on the chart: 8.6% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Outagamie County, Wisconsin.
How Outagamie County has changed
Outagamie County's population had its largest rise, from 148,627 in 1994 to 159,219 in 1999.
Outagamie County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 195,390, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 131,138. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Outagamie County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Outagamie County rose by about half to 108,523, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 85,564. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Outagamie County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.7% | 2024 6.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $32,901 | 2024 $82,847 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Outagamie County's history
1851
Created 1851, organized 1852. Wikipedia
1954
Valley Fair Shopping Center built in 1954 claimed to be first enclosed shopping mall in United States but demolished in 2007. Wikipedia
1989
A thunderstorm in May 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A tornado in June 2004 did $6.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $6.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in August 2013 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 190,705, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1973
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Outagamie County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Outagamie County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Outagamie County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Outagamie County ranks 4th of the six; Waupaca County is highest, at 27.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawano County, WI | 15 | 10.8% | 24.9% |
| Waupaca County, WI | 13 | 9.0% | 27.6% |
| Winnebago County, WI | 12 | 9.8% | 19.1% |
| Brown County, WI | 8 | 8.2% | 16.2% |
| Outagamie County, WI | 3 | 6.6% | 16.4% |
| Calumet County, WI | 0 | 5.8% | 13.6% |
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 Outagamie County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Outagamie County's poverty rate was 6.6% in 2024, 67th 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, Outagamie County ranks 63rd of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Outagamie 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 Outagamie 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 Outagamie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.