About one in seven people with a credit file in Richland County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Richland County, 13.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Richland County's score
In Richland County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 44.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 18.6. About one in nine renters (11.4%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Richland 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.
Richland 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.
- 44.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.0% · 202448th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.0% · 202449th percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,891 · 202446th percentile
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- 37.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.3% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
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- 31.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.8% · August 202514th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people122.1 · 202547th percentile
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- 22.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.5% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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- 18.6 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th 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 Richland 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 Richland County, 25.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Richland County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Richland County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Richland County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Richland County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.6% in 2012 to 15.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Richland County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.3%
Low on the chart: 7.9% 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, Richland County, Wisconsin.
How Richland County has changed
Richland County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 2004 high, from 17,609 in 1999 to 18,322 in 2004.
Richland County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 18,322 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Richland County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Richland County rose 30% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 6,088 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Richland County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.4% | 2024 13.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,307 | 2024 $67,891 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Richland County's history
1842
Created from Wisconsin Territory 1842, organized 1850. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 20,381. The 2020 Census counted 17,304, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
2005
A tornado in August 2005 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in August 2007 did $8.8 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $2.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in September 2016 did $2.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Richland County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Richland County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Richland County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Richland County ranks 2nd of the six; Crawford County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford County, WI | 19 | 12.9% | 29.6% |
| Richland County, WI | 17 | 13.0% | 27.0% |
| Sauk County, WI | 14 | 8.6% | 18.2% |
| Vernon County, WI | 13 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Grant County, WI | 9 | 11.9% | 24.0% |
| Iowa County, WI | 1 | 8.7% | 18.3% |
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 Richland County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Richland County's poverty rate was 13.0% in 2024, 12th 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, Richland County ranks 24th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Richland 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 Richland 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 Richland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.