About one in 10 people in Pierce County, Wisconsin, has a disability
In Pierce County, 10.4% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pierce County's score
In Pierce County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 42.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 4.7. About one in 17 children (6.0%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pierce 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.
Pierce 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.
- 42.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 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 income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 25.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.3% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people116.2 · 202544th percentile
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- 25.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202644th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.0% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
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- 4.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.1% · August 20253rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.4% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score24.4% · second quarter of 20262nd percentile
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- 4.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.8% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.0% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability10.4% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance3.1% · 2020 to 20242nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$97,746 · 20246th 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 Pierce 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 Pierce 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
Pierce County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pierce County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Pierce County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pierce County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.6% in 2010 to 5.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Pierce County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 2.3% 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, Pierce County, Wisconsin.
How Pierce County has changed
Pierce County's population had its largest rise, from 26,277 in 1969 to 28,815 in 1974.
Pierce County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43,380, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 40,864. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pierce County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Pierce County had its largest rise, from 8,501 in 1995 to 9,283 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Pierce County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 10,368, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 9,934. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pierce County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.5% | 2024 7.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,125 | 2024 $97,746 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Pierce County's history
1853
Wisconsin State Legislature split St. Croix County into Pierce, Polk, and Saint Croix counties in 1853. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in May 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in May 1996 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in June 1996 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Hail in May 2001 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 42,212, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pierce County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pierce County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pierce County, in Wisconsin and Minnesota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pierce County ranks 4th of the seven; Pepin County is highest, at 25.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota County, MN | 16 | 7.1% | 14.8% |
| Goodhue County, MN | 12 | 7.2% | 21.0% |
| Dunn County, WI | 10 | 13.5% | 23.2% |
| Washington County, MN | 10 | 4.9% | 12.9% |
| St. Croix County, WI | 5 | 5.9% | 14.0% |
| Pierce County, WI | 5 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
| Pepin County, WI | 5 | 11.0% | 25.9% |
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 Pierce County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Pierce County's poverty rate was 7.8% in 2024, 62nd 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, Pierce County ranks 56th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pierce 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.