In Teton County, Wyoming, benefit checks make up only 2 cents of every dollar of income
In Teton County, 1.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Teton County's score
In Teton County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 17.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 3.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Teton 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.
Teton 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.
- 18.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.7% · August 20252nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score18.2% · second quarter of 20260th percentile
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- 12.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line5.4% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line4.0% · 20240th percentile
- People with a disability6.2% · 2020 to 20240th percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$151,604 · 20240th percentile
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- 8.4 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.3% · fiscal year 20270th percentile
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- 7.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.2% · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people43 · 20256th percentile
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- 3.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20266th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working5.5% · 2020 to 20240th 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 Teton 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 Teton County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Teton County
Wyoming
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Teton County had its largest rise, from 4.2% in 1979 to 5.3% in 1984.
In Teton County, pay from work still brings in more than ten times as much as benefit checks, and benefit checks' share of income is smaller than in 1969
In Teton County, Wyoming, benefit checks' share of income fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Teton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 2.2% in 2019 to 0.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Teton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 1.3%
Low on the chart: 0.5% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Teton County, Wyoming.
How Teton County has changed
Teton County's population had its largest rise, from 14,320 in 1994 to 17,672 in 1999.
Teton County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 23,272, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 23,272. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Teton County, Wyoming.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Teton County more than doubled to 23,921, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 23,921. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Teton County, Wyoming.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.9% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 4.6% | 2024 5.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $32,218 | 2024 $151,604 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Teton County's history
1872
Yellowstone National Park became the first National Park in 1872. Wikipedia
1921
February 15, 1921 (authorized) 1922 (organized). Wikipedia
1929
Grand Teton National Park was created in 1929 and greatly expanded in 1950. Wikipedia
1987
A tornado in July 1987 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Lightning in July 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 23,331, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
Lightning in August 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 2011
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Teton County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Teton County beside its neighbors
All eight counties that border Teton County, in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, score higher than it does. Of the group, Teton County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Fremont County gets the largest, at 26.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fremont County, WY | 43 | 12.5% | 26.6% |
| Bonneville County, ID | 21 | 8.2% | 18.8% |
| Fremont County, ID | 18 | 11.3% | 24.8% |
| Park County, WY | 10 | 9.9% | 18.8% |
| Gallatin County, MT | 8 | 7.1% | 8.7% |
| Sublette County, WY | 5 | 7.1% | 16.2% |
| Teton County, ID | 3 | 7.5% | 12.0% |
| 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 Teton County the poorest county in Wyoming?
No, Teton County's poverty rate was 5.4% in 2024, the lowest 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, Teton County ranks 23rd of 23 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Teton 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.
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 Teton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.