About one in six people with a credit file in Rusk County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Rusk County, 16.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rusk County's score
In Rusk County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 63.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 28.0. People with a credit card behind: 3.9%, August 2025, lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rusk 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.
Even so, Rusk County is worse off than most counties on children below the poverty line (23.0%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
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- 57.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.0% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability17.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,716 · 202465th 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 rent20.9% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 43.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.2% · August 202523rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people162.6 · 202564th percentile
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- 28.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.1% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.1% · second quarter of 202626th 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 Rusk 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 Rusk County, 26.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rusk County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rusk County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 30.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Rusk County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Rusk County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 16.2%, with most of the change between 2022 and 2023
High on the chart: 17.4% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rusk County, Wisconsin.
How Rusk County has changed
Rusk County's population had its largest rise, from 15,042 in 1979 to 15,729 in 1984.
Rusk County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 15,729 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rusk County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Rusk County had its largest drop, from 5,742 in 2005 to 4,853 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Rusk County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,078 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rusk County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.2% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.9% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,885 | 2024 $61,716 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rusk County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 17,737. The 2020 Census counted 14,188, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
2001
A thunderstorm in June 2001 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in September 2002 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rusk County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rusk County beside its neighbors
Rusk County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rusk County ranks 3rd of the six; Price County is highest, at 34.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rusk County, WI | 48 | 13.9% | 30.4% |
| Sawyer County, WI | 30 | 13.3% | 32.2% |
| Price County, WI | 21 | 12.2% | 34.7% |
| Barron County, WI | 11 | 10.2% | 25.3% |
| Chippewa County, WI | 10 | 10.7% | 23.1% |
| 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 Rusk County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Rusk County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 5th 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, Rusk County ranks 3rd of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rusk 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 Rusk County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.