About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Rock County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Rock County, 15.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rock County's score
In Rock County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 56.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 25.6. About one in eight people (12.8%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a lower share than in 79% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rock 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.
Rock 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.
- 56.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.5% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people174.1 · 202568th percentile
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- 52.9 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 rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 37.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.7% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
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- 27.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202636th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
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- 25.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.2% · 202428th percentile
- People with a disability12.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,982 · 202431st 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 Rock 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 Rock County, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rock County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rock County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 15.0% in 2004 to 21.6% in 2009.
In Rock County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 21.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Rock County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rock County getting SNAP food aid moved most in three steps: 12.3% in 2011 to 14.7% in 2012; 14.7% in 2012 to 17.1% in 2013; 15.8% in 2019 to 13.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Rock County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 12.9%
Low on the chart: 8.6% 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, Rock County, Wisconsin.
How Rock County has changed
Rock County's population rose by about a quarter to 165,461, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 145,982. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rock County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rock County rose by about a fifth to 69,744, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 65,834. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rock County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.7% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,701 | 2024 $73,982 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Rock County's history
1836
Created as territorial county December 7, 1836 from Milwaukee County, fully organized February 19, 1839. Wikipedia
2014
Lightning in June 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 163,687, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A tornado in February 2024 did $6.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A tornado in June 2024 did $24.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2026
A flash flood in April 2026 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rock County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rock County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Rock County, in Wisconsin and Illinois, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rock County ranks 2nd of the seven; Winnebago County is highest, at 25.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winnebago County, IL | 74 | 14.8% | 25.5% |
| Boone County, IL | 43 | 8.4% | 19.1% |
| Rock County, WI | 32 | 9.9% | 21.6% |
| Walworth County, WI | 12 | 7.9% | 17.7% |
| Dane County, WI | 7 | 9.9% | 11.8% |
| Jefferson County, WI | 6 | 7.7% | 19.7% |
| Green County, WI | 1 | 8.4% | 18.4% |
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 Rock County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Rock County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 40th 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, Rock County ranks 9th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rock 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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Neighborworks Blackhawk Region - NHS of Beloit, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Rock County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.