About one in 12 people in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, lives below the poverty line
In Sheboygan County, 8.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sheboygan County's score
In Sheboygan County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 34.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 11.8. Unemployment averaged 2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sheboygan 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.
Sheboygan 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.
- 34.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.4% · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people130.8 · 202552nd percentile
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- 28.0 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 rent14.4% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
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- 19.4 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 behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.2% · second quarter of 20268th percentile
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- 14.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.3% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.4% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,423 · 202428th percentile
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- 11.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202611th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.1% · 2020 to 202412th 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 Sheboygan 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 Sheboygan County, 19.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sheboygan County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sheboygan County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 18.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sheboygan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.3% in 2010 to 8.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Sheboygan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.0% 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, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
How Sheboygan County has changed
Sheboygan County's population had its largest rise, from 103,032 in 1989 to 108,093 in 1994.
Sheboygan County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 118,331, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 101,060. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sheboygan County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 61,092, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 61,388 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.8% | 2024 8.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,244 | 2024 $75,423 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Sheboygan County's history
1836
Created in 1836 and organized in 1846, when it was in the Wisconsin Territory. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in August 1998 did $40 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A thunderstorm in August 2018 did $1.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 118,034, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sheboygan County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sheboygan County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Sheboygan County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sheboygan County ranks 3rd of the six; Manitowoc County is highest, at 23.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fond du Lac County, WI | 9 | 9.1% | 20.8% |
| Sheboygan County, WI | 6 | 8.3% | 18.7% |
| Manitowoc County, WI | 5 | 9.5% | 23.6% |
| Washington County, WI | 2 | 6.3% | 16.2% |
| Ozaukee County, WI | 0 | 5.4% | 11.9% |
| Calumet County, WI | 0 | 5.8% | 13.6% |
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 Sheboygan County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Sheboygan County's poverty rate was 8.3% in 2024, 58th 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, Sheboygan County ranks 50th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sheboygan 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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CCCS of Sheboygan
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.
Download the CSV for Sheboygan 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 Sheboygan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.