Unemployment in Phillips County, Colorado, is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties
In Phillips County, 2.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Phillips County's score
In Phillips County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 39.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 12.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Phillips 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.
Phillips 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.
- 39.3 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 rent13.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 38.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability12.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,166 · 202457th percentile
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- 19.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.3% · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people67 · 202518th percentile
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- 13.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.9% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 12.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.8% · 2020 to 202414th 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 Phillips 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 Phillips County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Phillips County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Phillips County had its largest rise, from 6.8% in 1974 to 14.4% in 1979.
In Phillips County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Phillips County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Phillips County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply after its 2021 high, from 11.3% in 2021 to 6.9% in 2022.
The share of households in Phillips County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2022, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 6.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Phillips County, Colorado.
How Phillips County has changed
Phillips County's population rose 8% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 4,588 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Phillips County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Phillips County rose by about half to 1,795, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 1,419. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Phillips County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.5% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.9% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,066 | 2024 $64,166 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Phillips County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 5,797. The 2020 Census counted 4,530, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
2006
A thunderstorm in July 2006 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Phillips County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Phillips County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Phillips County, in Colorado and Nebraska, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Phillips County ranks 2nd of the six; Sedgwick County is highest, at 35.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick County, CO | 57 | 14.6% | 35.1% |
| Logan County, CO | 42 | 17.0% | 22.7% |
| Yuma County, CO | 29 | 13.4% | 21.5% |
| Phillips County, CO | 10 | 11.4% | 28.0% |
| Chase County, NE | 8 | 10.1% | 20.5% |
| Perkins County, NE | 2 | 9.3% | 18.4% |
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 Phillips County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Phillips County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 32nd 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, Phillips County ranks 60th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Phillips 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 Phillips 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 Phillips County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.