In Lincoln County, Wyoming, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in eight dollars of the typical household's income
In Lincoln County, 12.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 22.7. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 6.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 1.8%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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, Lincoln County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (11.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 22.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.9% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.5% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance11.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$94,861 · 20247th percentile
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- 20.2 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 rent16.5% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income12.6% · fiscal year 20270th percentile
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- 9.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.9% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people52.7 · 202510th percentile
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- 8.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.2% · 2020 to 20242nd percentile
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- 6.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.5% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.8% · August 20254th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.5% · second quarter of 20269th 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Wyoming
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lincoln County had its largest rise, from 9.8% in 1984 to 12.0% in 1989.
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 15.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Wyoming, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.8%; 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 Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 4.4%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2009 and 2010
Low on the chart: 2.7% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Wyoming.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population more than doubled to 21,000, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 18,082. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Wyoming.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County nearly doubled to 7,326, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 5,864. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Wyoming.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.8% | 2024 6.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,070 | 2024 $94,861 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Lincoln County's history
1911
February 21, 1911 (authorized) 1913 (organized). Wikipedia
1923
Frontier No. 1 mine explosion killed 99 miners, August 14, 1923. Wikipedia
1924
Kemmerer Coal Company mine explosion at Sublet killed 39 miners, September 16, 1924. Wikipedia
1950
Kemmerer coal mining expanded to strip mining in 1950, became largest open-pit coal mine in U.S. Wikipedia
2013
A flash flood in September 2013 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 19,581, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Lincoln County, in Wyoming, Idaho and Utah, seven score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lincoln County ranks 8th of the nine; Bear Lake County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater County, WY | 38 | 9.1% | 17.4% |
| Uinta County, WY | 26 | 10.7% | 24.1% |
| Bonneville County, ID | 21 | 8.2% | 18.8% |
| Caribou County, ID | 20 | 10.2% | 22.6% |
| Rich County, UT | 17 | 8.5% | 16.7% |
| Bear Lake County, ID | 8 | 9.9% | 27.0% |
| Sublette County, WY | 5 | 7.1% | 16.2% |
| Lincoln County, WY | 1 | 6.9% | 15.8% |
| Teton County, WY | 0 | 5.4% | 1.8% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Wyoming?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 6.9% in 2024, 22nd 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, Lincoln County ranks 22nd of 23 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.