About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Cheyenne County, Colorado, have a job
In Cheyenne County, 7.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cheyenne County's score
In Cheyenne County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 63.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Unemployment averaged 2.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cheyenne 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, Cheyenne County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.7%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (231.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.3 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 rent24.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202740th percentile
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- 43.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people231.6 · 202582nd percentile
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- 38.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.2% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability10.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,475 · 202440th percentile
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- 34.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.0% · second quarter of 202649th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working7.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Cheyenne 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 Cheyenne County, 19.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cheyenne County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cheyenne County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Cheyenne County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cheyenne County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.9% in 2019 to 5.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Cheyenne County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 2.3% 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, Cheyenne County, Colorado.
How Cheyenne County has changed
Cheyenne County's population fell 30% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1999 to 2004, reaching 1,981. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cheyenne County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Cheyenne County had its largest rise, from 732 in 2000 to 806 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Cheyenne County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 806 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cheyenne County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.3% | 2025 2.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,969 | 2024 $70,475 |
The table uses 2.6% for 2025; the score uses 2.4% 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 Cheyenne County's history
1889
Created March 25, 1889 from portions of northeastern Bent County and southeastern Elbert County. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 3,746. The 2020 Census counted 1,748, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in June 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cheyenne County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cheyenne County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Cheyenne County, in Colorado and Kansas, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cheyenne County ranks 4th of the six; Lincoln County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, CO | 41 | 16.9% | 29.6% |
| Kiowa County, CO | 29 | 14.7% | 23.8% |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 27 | 13.2% | 21.0% |
| Wallace County, KS | 24 | 12.2% | 19.2% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 21 | 12.9% | 26.8% |
| Greeley County, KS | 11 | 9.9% | 11.1% |
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 Cheyenne County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Cheyenne County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 23rd highest of 64 in Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Crowley County, at 39.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Cheyenne County ranks 35th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cheyenne 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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Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
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Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
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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 Cheyenne 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 Cheyenne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.