About one in eight people with a credit file in Vilas County, Wisconsin, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Vilas County, 12.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Vilas County's score
In Vilas County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 42.9. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.1. People with a credit card behind: 2.6%, August 2025, lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Vilas 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.
Vilas 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.
- 42.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.2% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 37.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability15.8% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,564 · 202444th percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.0% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people92.1 · 202531st percentile
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- 17.7 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 rent11.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th percentile
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- 12.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.2% · second quarter of 202613th 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 Vilas 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 Vilas County, 31.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Vilas County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Vilas County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Vilas County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Vilas County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (6.8% in 2009) to 9.5% in 2010.
The share of households in Vilas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 6.8% 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, Vilas County, Wisconsin.
How Vilas County has changed
Vilas County's population more than doubled to 23,948, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 16,385. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Vilas County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Vilas County had its largest rise, from 5,125 in 1990 to 6,767 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Vilas County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 8,411
High on the chart: 8,566 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Vilas County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.6% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,574 | 2024 $68,564 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Vilas County's history
1850
Settlers from New England, primarily Vermont and Connecticut, built roads through Vilas County in 1850s. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A thunderstorm in July 1999 did $1 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 23,047, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Vilas County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Vilas County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Vilas County, in Wisconsin and Michigan, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Vilas County ranks 6th of the seven; Iron County is highest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MI | 57 | 14.2% | 43.1% |
| Gogebic County, MI | 55 | 17.5% | 40.1% |
| Forest County, WI | 44 | 15.7% | 33.8% |
| Iron County, WI | 31 | 11.9% | 33.9% |
| Price County, WI | 21 | 12.2% | 34.7% |
| Vilas County, WI | 12 | 10.4% | 27.9% |
| Oneida County, WI | 9 | 9.5% | 27.8% |
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 Vilas County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Vilas County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 36th 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, Vilas County ranks 36th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Vilas 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 Vilas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.