About one in 10 people with a credit file in Johnson County, Wyoming, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Johnson County, 9.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Johnson County's score
In Johnson County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 27.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 7.9. People with a credit card behind: 2.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Johnson 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.
Johnson 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.
- 27.6 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 rent13.7% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 27.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.0% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.8% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability14.5% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,127 · 202427th percentile
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- 19.3 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 working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 9.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people57.1 · 202513th percentile
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- 7.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.1% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.9% · second quarter of 202612th 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 Johnson 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 Johnson County, 27.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Johnson County
Wyoming
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Johnson County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Johnson County, Wyoming, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Johnson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 4.0% in 2016 to 2.2% in 2017.
The share of households in Johnson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 1.5%
Low on the chart: 0.6% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Johnson County, Wyoming.
How Johnson County has changed
Johnson County's population rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 5,361 in 1974 to 6,423 in 1979.
Johnson County's population rose by more than half to 8,803, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 8,803 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Johnson County, Wyoming.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Johnson County rose by about half to 3,363, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 3,189. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Johnson County, Wyoming.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 8.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,580 | 2024 $76,127 |
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 Johnson County's history
1875
December 8, 1875 (authorized) 1881 (organized). Wikipedia
1889
Johnson County War, 1889-1893: wealthy ranchers hired guns to fight settlers and homesteaders. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 8,569. The 2020 Census counted 8,447, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A flash flood in June 2015 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Johnson County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Johnson County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Johnson County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Johnson County ranks 3rd of the seven; Big Horn County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Horn County, WY | 35 | 12.6% | 27.0% |
| Natrona County, WY | 31 | 10.7% | 15.8% |
| Campbell County, WY | 20 | 8.5% | 15.4% |
| Converse County, WY | 9 | 9.8% | 17.8% |
| Sheridan County, WY | 8 | 9.0% | 17.0% |
| Washakie County, WY | 8 | 11.4% | 26.2% |
| Johnson County, WY | 3 | 8.0% | 19.8% |
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 Johnson County the poorest county in Wyoming?
No, Johnson County's poverty rate was 8.0% in 2024, 19th 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, Johnson County ranks 20th of 23 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Johnson 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 Johnson 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 Johnson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.