About one in seven people with a credit file in Goshen County, Wyoming, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Goshen County, 15.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Goshen County's score
In Goshen County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 63.8. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.3. People with a credit card behind: 2.2%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Goshen 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.
Even so, Goshen County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (11.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.4% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.4% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability18.3% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- People without health insurance11.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,570 · 202469th percentile
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- 47.5 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 rent19.0% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 28.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.0% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people102.8 · 202537th percentile
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- 26.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.0% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 12.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.2% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.9% · second quarter of 202625th 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 Goshen 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 Goshen County, 23.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Goshen County
Wyoming
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Goshen County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Goshen County, Wyoming, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Goshen County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 7.4%, with most of the change between 2012 and 2013
Low on the chart: 7.3% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Goshen County, Wyoming.
How Goshen County has changed
Goshen County's population rose 18% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
High on the chart: 13,224 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Goshen County, Wyoming.
The number of jobs located in Goshen County had its largest rise, from 3,974 in 2005 to 4,520 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Goshen County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 4,520 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Goshen County, Wyoming.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.9% | 2024 15.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,559 | 2024 $60,570 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Goshen County's history
1820
North Platte River route for westward-bound fur traders and trappers by 1820s. Wikipedia
1840
Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail routes through county by 1840s. Wikipedia
1911
February 21, 1911 (authorized) 1913 (organized). Wikipedia
1979
A tornado in June 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in June 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
Hail in June 1999 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 13,249. The 2020 Census counted 12,498, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
Holly Sugar factory closed early 2019, was once major employer. Wikipedia
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Since 1999
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Goshen County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Goshen County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Goshen County, in Wyoming and Nebraska, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Goshen County ranks 2nd of the seven; Platte County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 41 | 11.0% | 25.2% |
| Niobrara County, WY | 30 | 15.2% | 25.7% |
| Goshen County, WY | 25 | 15.4% | 26.6% |
| Laramie County, WY | 21 | 8.4% | 19.9% |
| Banner County, NE | 15 | 10.8% | 17.8% |
| Platte County, WY | 14 | 10.7% | 28.0% |
| Sioux County, NE | 13 | 14.9% | 12.1% |
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 Goshen County the poorest county in Wyoming?
No, Goshen County's poverty rate was 15.4% in 2024, 2nd highest of 23 in Wyoming (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Albany County, at 15.9%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Goshen County ranks 8th of 23 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Goshen 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 Aid of Wyoming, Inc.
Legal aid
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Equal Justice Wyoming
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 Goshen 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 Goshen County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.