About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Sauk County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Sauk County, 13.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sauk County's score
In Sauk County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 45.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 12.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sauk 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.
Sauk 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.
- 45.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.7% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people154.7 · 202561st percentile
-
- 36.5 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202723rd percentile
-
- 25.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.2% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
-
- 20.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.7% · 202411th percentile
- People with a disability13.0% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,228 · 202424th percentile
-
- 12.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.7% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
-
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 Sauk 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 Sauk County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sauk County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sauk County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 18.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Sauk County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sauk County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.5% in 2012 to 11.1% in 2013.
The share of households in Sauk County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.6% 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, Sauk County, Wisconsin.
How Sauk County has changed
Sauk County's population had its largest rise, from 50,444 in 1994 to 54,647 in 1999.
Sauk County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 66,486, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 66,486. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sauk County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Sauk County had its largest rise, from 28,212 in 1995 to 33,323 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Sauk County rose by more than half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 36,443
High on the chart: 36,563 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sauk County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,681 | 2024 $77,228 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Sauk County's history
1830
Yankee migration from New England to Wisconsin in the 1830s due to overpopulation. Wikipedia
1840
Created in 1840 from Wisconsin Territory, organized in 1844. Wikipedia
1945
Badger Ordnance Works, largest munitions factory in the world during WWII, demolished after war. Wikipedia
1994
A tornado in July 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A flash flood in June 2000 did $9.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in June 2008 did $22.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in August 2018 did $4.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 65,763, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1976
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sauk County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sauk County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Sauk County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sauk County ranks 5th of the seven; Juneau County is highest, at 30.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juneau County, WI | 21 | 10.4% | 30.0% |
| Richland County, WI | 17 | 13.0% | 27.0% |
| Sauk County, WI | 14 | 8.6% | 18.2% |
| Vernon County, WI | 13 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Dane County, WI | 7 | 9.9% | 11.8% |
| Columbia County, WI | 4 | 6.7% | 16.4% |
| 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 Sauk County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Sauk County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 55th 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, Sauk County ranks 29th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sauk 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.
-
Legal Action of Wisconsin
Legal aid
-
Disability Rights Wisconsin
Legal aid
-
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 Sauk County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.