About one in five people in Prowers County, Colorado, lives below the poverty line
In Prowers County, 19.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Prowers County's score
In Prowers County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 75.0. The typical household earns $53,748 a year (2024), less than in 85% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 64.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Prowers 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.
Prowers County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (2.8%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (85.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.2% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance9.6% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,748 · 202485th percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 61.7 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 52.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.0% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 35.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.3% · August 202543rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people85.1 · 202528th 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 Prowers 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 Prowers County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Prowers County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Prowers County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Prowers County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Prowers County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 13.1% in 2009 to 17.1% in 2010; 15.0% in 2011 to 19.0% in 2012.
The share of households in Prowers County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.1%, with most of the change between 2009 and 2010
High on the chart: 21.4% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Prowers County, Colorado.
How Prowers County has changed
Prowers County's population had its largest drop, from 13,613 in 2004 to 12,593 in 2009.
Prowers County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 14,520 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Prowers County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Prowers County had its largest rise, from 5,341 in 1995 to 6,263 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Prowers County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,263 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Prowers County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.3% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,047 | 2024 $53,748 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Prowers County's history
1930
Dust Bowl greatly affected Lamar; participated in Civil Works Administration, Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and Works Progress Administration projects. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 14,836. The 2020 Census counted 11,999, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
Lightning in September 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Hail in May 2001 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Neoplan bus manufacturing plant closed in 2006 after opening in 1981 with 650 employees. Wikipedia
2007
A tornado in March 2007 did $4 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Prowers County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Prowers County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Prowers County, in Colorado and Kansas, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Prowers County ranks 3rd of the seven; Bent County is highest, at 38.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bent County, CO | 82 | 28.9% | 38.7% |
| Prowers County, CO | 62 | 19.0% | 31.0% |
| Baca County, CO | 52 | 18.2% | 35.6% |
| Kiowa County, CO | 29 | 14.7% | 23.8% |
| Stanton County, KS | 21 | 11.1% | 14.5% |
| Hamilton County, KS | 21 | 12.9% | 12.5% |
| 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 Prowers County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Prowers County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 7th 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, Prowers County ranks 12th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Prowers 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 Prowers 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 Prowers County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.