About one in six people with a credit file in Price County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Price County, 15.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Price County's score
In Price County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 47.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 23.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Price 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.
Price 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.
- 47.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.8% · 202453rd percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,405 · 202453rd percentile
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- 46.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.2% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
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- 24.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.6% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 23.1 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
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- 23.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.7% · August 202521st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people78 · 202524th 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 Price 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 Price County, 28.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Price County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Price County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Price County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Price County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.1% in 2011 to 12.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Price 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: 9.3% 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, Price County, Wisconsin.
How Price County has changed
Price County's population had its largest drop, from 15,189 in 2004 to 14,297 in 2009.
Price County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 16,319 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Price County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Price County had its largest drop, from 6,672 in 2005 to 5,832 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Price County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 30% since
High on the chart: 6,697 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Price County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,326 | 2024 $65,405 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Price County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 18,517. The 2020 Census counted 14,054, 76% of the peak. Census Bureau
1985
A tornado in June 1985 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Price County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Price County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Price County, four score higher. Of the group, Price County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (34.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rusk County, WI | 48 | 13.9% | 30.4% |
| Iron County, WI | 31 | 11.9% | 33.9% |
| Sawyer County, WI | 30 | 13.3% | 32.2% |
| Ashland County, WI | 26 | 13.2% | 33.4% |
| 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% |
| Taylor County, WI | 4 | 10.5% | 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 Price County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Price County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 15th 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, Price County ranks 20th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Price 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 Price County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.