About one in eight people with a credit file in Shawano County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Shawano County, 13.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Shawano County's score
In Shawano County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 37.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 16.4. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.5%, August 2025, lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Shawano 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.
Shawano 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.
- 37.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.0% · August 202511th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people163 · 202564th percentile
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- 37.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.4% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,138 · 202448th percentile
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- 30.7 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 rent16.2% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 20.9 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 202624th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 16.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.9% · second quarter of 202619th 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 Shawano 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 Shawano County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Shawano County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Shawano County had its largest rise, from 17.1% in 2004 to 24.6% in 2009.
In Shawano County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1989, reaching 24.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Shawano County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1989 to 2024, reaching 24.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Shawano County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 7.6% in 2011 to 9.0% in 2012; 10.2% in 2013 to 11.6% in 2014.
The share of households in Shawano County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.0%
High on the chart: 11.6% 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, Shawano County, Wisconsin.
How Shawano County has changed
Shawano County's population had its largest rise, from 38,345 in 1994 to 40,222 in 1999.
Shawano County's population rose 11% from 1989 to 2024
High on the chart: 41,889 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Shawano County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Shawano County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 12,341, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 13,094 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Shawano County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.9% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1993 $27,627 | 2024 $67,138 |
The table uses 3.1% 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 Shawano County's history
1853
Displacement of Miami and Delaware tribes from Indiana involved in treaty naming. Wikipedia
1969
A tornado in June 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 41,949. The 2020 Census counted 40,881, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Shawano County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Shawano County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Shawano County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Shawano County ranks 4th of the eight; Menominee County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menominee County, WI | 96 | 24.4% | 36.3% |
| Langlade County, WI | 35 | 14.3% | 30.9% |
| Shawano County, WI | 15 | 10.8% | 24.9% |
| Waupaca County, WI | 13 | 9.0% | 27.6% |
| Brown County, WI | 8 | 8.2% | 16.2% |
| Marathon County, WI | 6 | 7.5% | 18.1% |
| Oconto County, WI | 5 | 8.5% | 23.5% |
| Outagamie County, WI | 3 | 6.6% | 16.4% |
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 Shawano County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Shawano County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 30th 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, Shawano County ranks 27th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Shawano 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 Shawano 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 Shawano County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.