In Las Animas County, Colorado, rent on a two-bedroom takes about three in ten dollars of the typical household's income
In Las Animas County, 30.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Las Animas County's score
In Las Animas County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 83.6. Jobs come next, at 82.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Las Animas 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.
Las Animas County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.6 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 rent21.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income30.1% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 82.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 81.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.8% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.5% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability21.6% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance8.4% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,562 · 202489th percentile
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- 72.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.8% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.4% · August 202557th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people132.4 · 202552nd 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 Las Animas 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 Las Animas County, 26.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Las Animas County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Las Animas County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 41.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Las Animas County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Las Animas County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.3%, with most of the change between 2014 and 2015
High on the chart: 21.0% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Las Animas County, Colorado.
How Las Animas County has changed
Las Animas County's population fell 7% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 2009 and 2014
High on the chart: 15,775 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Las Animas County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Las Animas County rose most sharply from its first year (3,413 in 1990) to 4,184 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Las Animas County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 5,574 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Las Animas County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.5% | 2024 19.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,148 | 2024 $51,562 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 6.1% 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 Las Animas County's history
1866
Founded February 9, 1866. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 38,975. The 2020 Census counted 14,555, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Las Animas County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Las Animas County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Las Animas County, in Colorado and New Mexico, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Las Animas County ranks 3rd of the nine; Costilla County is highest, at 48.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costilla County, CO | 93 | 22.8% | 48.3% |
| Las Animas County, CO | 90 | 19.8% | 41.3% |
| Pueblo County, CO | 87 | 15.8% | 32.5% |
| Bent County, CO | 82 | 28.9% | 38.7% |
| Otero County, CO | 81 | 19.0% | 40.3% |
| Huerfano County, CO | 72 | 19.2% | 40.0% |
| Colfax County, NM | 72 | 17.9% | 37.0% |
| Union County, NM | 60 | 18.3% | 41.9% |
| Baca County, CO | 52 | 18.2% | 35.6% |
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 Las Animas County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Las Animas County's poverty rate was 19.8% in 2024, 5th 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, Las Animas County ranks 2nd of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Las Animas 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 Las Animas 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 Las Animas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.