About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Waushara County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Waushara County, 13.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Waushara County's score
In Waushara County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 47.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.9. People with a credit card behind: 3.1%, August 2025, lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Waushara 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.
Waushara 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.
- 47.0 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 people164.4 · 202564th percentile
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- 41.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.1% · 202431st percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.7% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,502 · 202434th percentile
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- 29.4 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 rent17.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.8% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 26.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.9% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
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- 14.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.1% · second quarter of 202616th 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 Waushara 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 Waushara County, 26.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Waushara County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Waushara County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Waushara County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Waushara County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2014 high, from 11.6% in 2013 to 13.0% in 2014.
The share of households in Waushara County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2023, reaching 13.0%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 13.0% 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, Waushara County, Wisconsin.
How Waushara County has changed
Waushara County's population nearly doubled to 25,079, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 21,130. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Waushara County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Waushara County rose most sharply from its first year (4,587 in 1990) to 5,327 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Waushara County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 6,308 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Waushara County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.4% | 2024 11.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,281 | 2024 $72,502 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Waushara County's history
1851
Established by Wisconsin Legislature February 15, 1851, organized 1852. Wikipedia
1992
A tornado in August 1992 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Hail in May 2000 did $26 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A thunderstorm in June 2001 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A thunderstorm in July 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 24,520, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Waushara County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Waushara County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Waushara County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Waushara County ranks 3rd of the seven; Adams County is highest, at 34.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County, WI | 47 | 12.1% | 34.1% |
| Green Lake County, WI | 23 | 13.6% | 26.2% |
| Marquette County, WI | 22 | 12.2% | 30.2% |
| Waushara County, WI | 19 | 11.1% | 28.3% |
| Waupaca County, WI | 13 | 9.0% | 27.6% |
| Winnebago County, WI | 12 | 9.8% | 19.1% |
| Portage County, WI | 4 | 10.5% | 21.0% |
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 Waushara County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Waushara County's poverty rate was 11.1% in 2024, 28th 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, Waushara County ranks 23rd of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Waushara 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 Waushara 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 Waushara County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.