Wisconsin County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 72 counties in Wisconsin, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Wisconsin county scores 16.6. 2 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
Wisconsin Snapshot
72 Counties Scored
16.6 Mean Score
11.6 Median Score
96 Menominee County Most Distressed
0 Calumet County Least Distressed
1 extreme county distress1 high county distress4 moderate-low county distress4 low-moderate county distress10 low county distress19 very low county distress33 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Wisconsin County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 72 Wisconsin counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Wisconsin's 72 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Wisconsin Counties
72 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Menominee County | 96 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | — | Milwaukee County | 77 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 3 | — | Rusk County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 4 | — | Adams County | 46 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 5 | — | Forest County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 6 | — | Racine County | 42 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 7 | — | Kenosha County | 38 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 8 | — | Langlade County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 9 | — | Rock County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 10 | — | Sawyer County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 11 | — | Burnett County | 29 | low county distress | Labor |
| 12 | — | Iron County | 29 | low county distress | Labor |
| 13 | — | Jackson County | 27 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 14 | — | Douglas County | 26 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | — | Ashland County | 25 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 16 | — | Green Lake County | 22 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 17 | — | Juneau County | 22 | low county distress | Labor |
| 18 | — | Marquette County | 21 | low county distress | Labor |
| 19 | — | Washburn County | 21 | low county distress | Labor |
| 20 | — | Price County | 20 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 21 | — | Crawford County | 19 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 22 | — | Marinette County | 19 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 23 | — | Waushara County | 18 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 24 | — | Richland County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 25 | — | Clark County | 15 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 26 | — | Wood County | 15 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 27 | — | Sauk County | 14 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 28 | — | Shawano County | 14 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | — | Bayfield County | 14 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 30 | — | Polk County | 14 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 31 | — | Monroe County | 13 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | — | Waupaca County | 13 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 33 | — | Winnebago County | 13 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 34 | — | Vernon County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | — | Walworth County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 36 | — | Barron County | 11 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 37 | — | Vilas County | 11 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 38 | — | Dunn County | 10 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 39 | — | Chippewa County | 10 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 40 | — | Brown County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 41 | — | Fond du Lac County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 42 | — | Grant County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 43 | — | La Crosse County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 44 | — | Lincoln County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 45 | — | Eau Claire County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 46 | — | Florence County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 47 | — | Oneida County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 48 | — | Dane County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 49 | — | Marathon County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 50 | — | Jefferson County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | — | Sheboygan County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 52 | — | St. Croix County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 53 | — | Pierce County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 54 | — | Lafayette County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 55 | — | Manitowoc County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 56 | — | Dodge County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 57 | — | Oconto County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 58 | — | Pepin County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 59 | — | Portage County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | — | Taylor County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | — | Trempealeau County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | — | Columbia County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 63 | — | Outagamie County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 64 | 3,046 | Buffalo County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 65 | 3,049 | Washington County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 66 | 3,065 | Waukesha County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 67 | 3,088 | Door County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 68 | 3,091 | Iowa County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 69 | 3,099 | Green County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 70 | 3,111 | Kewaunee County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 71 | 3,121 | Ozaukee County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | 3,128 | Calumet County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 1 Wisconsin county
very high county distress — 0 Wisconsin counties
high county distress — 1 Wisconsin county
moderate-high county distress — 0 Wisconsin counties
moderate county distress — 0 Wisconsin counties
moderate-low county distress — 4 Wisconsin counties
low-moderate county distress — 4 Wisconsin counties
low county distress — 10 Wisconsin counties
very low county distress — 19 Wisconsin counties
exceptionally low county distress — 33 Wisconsin counties