In Pepin County, Wisconsin, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Pepin County, 16.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pepin County's score
In Pepin County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 37.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 53.8 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pepin 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.
Pepin 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.
- 37.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.3% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability13.1% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,176 · 202428th percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.7% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
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- 14.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.6% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.2% · second quarter of 20268th percentile
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- 14.2 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 rent12.5% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.2% · fiscal year 20278th percentile
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- 11.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.0% · August 202511th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people53.8 · 202510th 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 Pepin 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 Pepin County, 24.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pepin County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pepin County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Pepin County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pepin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.2% in 2018 to 8.0% in 2019.
The share of households in Pepin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 9.9%
Low on the chart: 6.2% 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, Pepin County, Wisconsin.
How Pepin County has changed
Pepin County's population had its largest drop, from 7,477 in 1969 to 7,182 in 1974.
Pepin County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 7,555 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pepin County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pepin County rose by about a quarter to 2,394, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 2,394. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pepin County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.6% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,070 | 2024 $75,176 |
The table uses 3.5% 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 Pepin County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 7,905. The 2020 Census counted 7,318, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A thunderstorm in May 1996 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in August 2009 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pepin County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pepin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pepin County, in Wisconsin and Minnesota, three score higher. Of the group, Pepin County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (25.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodhue County, MN | 12 | 7.2% | 21.0% |
| Dunn County, WI | 10 | 13.5% | 23.2% |
| Eau Claire County, WI | 8 | 10.8% | 19.4% |
| Pierce County, WI | 5 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
| Pepin County, WI | 5 | 11.0% | 25.9% |
| Buffalo County, WI | 3 | 8.8% | 25.1% |
| Wabasha County, MN | 3 | 7.0% | 25.3% |
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 Pepin County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Pepin County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 29th 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, Pepin County ranks 58th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pepin 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.
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 Pepin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.