North Dakota County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 53 counties in North Dakota, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 26.6.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
North Dakota Snapshot
53 Counties Scored
26.6 Mean Score
24.7 Median Score
57.1 Rolette County Most Distressed
12.3 LaMoure County Least Distressed
2 Elevated 7 Normal 44 Healthy
Zone Distribution North Dakota County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 53 North Dakota counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How North Dakota's 53 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All North Dakota Counties
53 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,144 | Rolette County | 57.1 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 2 | 1,566 | Sioux County | 50.1 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 3 | 1,985 | McKenzie County | 43.5 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 4 | 2,062 | Williams County | 42.1 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 2,202 | Mountrail County | 39.8 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 6 | 2,253 | Benson County | 39.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 7 | 2,337 | Ward County | 37.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 8 | 2,441 | Grand Forks County | 35.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 9 | 2,458 | Richland County | 35.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 10 | 2,498 | Morton County | 34.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 11 | 2,499 | Stark County | 34.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 2,539 | Cass County | 33.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 13 | 2,544 | Grant County | 33.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 14 | 2,580 | Barnes County | 33.1 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 15 | 2,669 | Hettinger County | 31.6 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 16 | 2,671 | Ramsey County | 31.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 17 | 2,705 | Stutsman County | 30.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 2,751 | Adams County | 30.1 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 2,767 | Mercer County | 29.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 20 | 2,770 | Pierce County | 29.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 21 | 2,789 | Walsh County | 29.4 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 2,815 | Eddy County | 28.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 23 | 2,901 | Burleigh County | 26.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 24 | 2,905 | Golden Valley County | 26.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 25 | 2,950 | Dunn County | 25.4 | Healthy | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 2,953 | Sheridan County | 25.4 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 27 | 2,972 | Emmons County | 24.7 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 28 | 2,983 | Logan County | 24.4 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 29 | 2,986 | Divide County | 24.3 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 30 | 2,994 | Foster County | 23.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 31 | 3,016 | McIntosh County | 22.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 32 | 3,031 | Slope County | 22.1 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 33 | 3,032 | Wells County | 22.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 34 | 3,041 | Kidder County | 21.4 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 35 | 3,056 | Ransom County | 20.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 36 | 3,072 | Traill County | 20.0 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 37 | 3,074 | Towner County | 19.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 38 | 3,076 | Dickey County | 19.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 39 | 3,087 | Sargent County | 19.3 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 40 | 3,089 | Nelson County | 19.2 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 41 | 3,097 | Griggs County | 18.3 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 42 | 3,104 | Oliver County | 18.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 43 | 3,110 | Burke County | 17.6 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 44 | 3,117 | McHenry County | 17.0 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 45 | 3,118 | Pembina County | 16.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 46 | 3,121 | Renville County | 16.4 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 47 | 3,126 | Bowman County | 15.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 48 | 3,128 | Cavalier County | 15.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 49 | 3,135 | McLean County | 15.1 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 50 | 3,136 | Bottineau County | 15.1 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 51 | 3,137 | Billings County | 14.6 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 52 | 3,139 | Steele County | 13.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 53 | 3,140 | LaMoure County | 12.3 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties