About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Wood County, Wisconsin, have a job
In Wood County, 15.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wood County's score
In Wood County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 36.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 19.4. 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 Wood 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.
Wood 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.
- 36.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.7% · August 202521st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people127.1 · 202550th percentile
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- 31.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance4.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,299 · 202445th percentile
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- 28.7 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.8% · fiscal year 202719th percentile
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- 28.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th 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 behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.9% · second quarter of 202615th 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 Wood 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 Wood County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wood County
Wisconsin
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wood County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 26.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Wood County, Wisconsin, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wood County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.0% in 2010 to 9.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Wood County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 13.2%
High on the chart: 13.4% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wood County, Wisconsin.
How Wood County has changed
Wood County's population had its largest rise, from 66,934 in 1974 to 71,002 in 1979.
Wood County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 75,551 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wood County, Wisconsin.
The number of jobs located in Wood County had its largest drop, from 41,752 in 2010 to 36,960 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Wood County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 43,798 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wood County, Wisconsin.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.2% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,792 | 2024 $68,299 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Wood County's history
1856
Created 1856. Wikipedia
1985
A tornado in August 1985 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 75,555. The 2020 Census counted 74,207, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
Hail in June 2007 did $45 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in September 2010 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in May 2011 did $1.02 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wood County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wood County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wood County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wood 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% |
| Jackson County, WI | 27 | 13.5% | 26.2% |
| Juneau County, WI | 21 | 10.4% | 30.0% |
| Clark County, WI | 15 | 13.7% | 24.4% |
| Wood County, WI | 15 | 11.3% | 26.5% |
| Marathon County, WI | 6 | 7.5% | 18.1% |
| 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 Wood County the poorest county in Wisconsin?
No, Wood County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 25th 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, Wood County ranks 26th of 72 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wood 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 Wood County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.