About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Sheridan County, Wyoming, have a job
In Sheridan County, 12.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sheridan County's score
In Sheridan County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 46.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 10.1. 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 Sheridan 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.
Sheridan 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.
- 46.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th 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 line9.0% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.0% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,757 · 202427th percentile
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- 23.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.2% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people83 · 202527th percentile
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- 11.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.4% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
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- 10.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.8% · August 20254th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.4% · second quarter of 202611th 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 Sheridan 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 Sheridan County, 22.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sheridan County
Wyoming
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sheridan County had its largest rise, from 8.0% in 1979 to 11.2% in 1984.
In Sheridan County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 17.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Sheridan County, Wyoming, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sheridan County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2013 high, from 3.7% in 2012 to 4.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Sheridan County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 3.7%, with its low point on the chart in 2022
Low on the chart: 2.8% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sheridan County, Wyoming.
How Sheridan County has changed
Sheridan County's population doubled to 32,978, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 24,235. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sheridan County, Wyoming.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sheridan County nearly doubled to 14,727, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 14,727. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sheridan County, Wyoming.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.7% | 2024 9.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,949 | 2024 $75,757 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Sheridan County's history
1888
Created March 9, 1888, from Johnson County. Wikipedia
2010
Lightning in July 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 30,921, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1978
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sheridan County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sheridan County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Sheridan County, in Wyoming and Montana, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sheridan County ranks 5th of the six; Big Horn County is highest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Horn County, MT | 78 | 22.2% | 37.1% |
| Big Horn County, WY | 35 | 12.6% | 27.0% |
| Campbell County, WY | 20 | 8.5% | 15.4% |
| Sheridan County, WY | 8 | 9.0% | 17.0% |
| Powder River County, MT | 7 | 11.1% | 22.2% |
| 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 Sheridan County the poorest county in Wyoming?
No, Sheridan County's poverty rate was 9.0% in 2024, 16th 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, Sheridan County ranks 16th of 23 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sheridan 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 Sheridan 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 Sheridan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.