Kansas County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 105 counties in Kansas, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average Kansas county scores 28.1. 3 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
Kansas Snapshot
105 Counties Scored
28.1 Mean Score
24.7 Median Score
89 Wyandotte County Most Distressed
0 Gray County Least Distressed
1 very high county distress2 high county distress1 moderate-high county distress13 moderate county distress7 moderate-low county distress14 low-moderate county distress28 low county distress24 very low county distress15 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution Kansas County Map
Wyandotte County is the most distressed of Kansas's 105 counties
County Distress Index score for Kansas's 105 counties, from green (least distressed, 0–29) to red (most distressed, 80–100). Data from 2024 to Aug 2026.
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The county map could not be loaded. Every county is in the lists on this page.
Least distressed 0–2930–4950–6970–7980–100 Most distressed
County Distress Index score · data from 2024 to Aug 2026
Point to or tap a county for its rank and score. Click it, or tap it twice, to open its page.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Kansas's 105 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Kansas Counties
105 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Wyandotte County | 89 | very high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 2 | — | Montgomery County | 72 | high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 3 | — | Bourbon County | 72 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 4 | — | Geary County | 69 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 5 | — | Chautauqua County | 59 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 6 | — | Woodson County | 58 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 7 | — | Crawford County | 58 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 8 | — | Cherokee County | 58 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 9 | — | Elk County | 58 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 10 | — | Labette County | 57 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 11 | — | Allen County | 57 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 12 | — | Linn County | 55 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 13 | — | Shawnee County | 55 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 14 | — | Greenwood County | 54 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | — | Neosho County | 53 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 16 | — | Reno County | 51 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 17 | — | Cowley County | 50 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 18 | — | Harper County | 49 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 19 | — | Sedgwick County | 48 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 20 | — | Lyon County | 47 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 21 | — | Barton County | 41 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 22 | — | Franklin County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 23 | — | Seward County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 24 | — | Wilson County | 40 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 25 | — | Ford County | 37 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 26 | — | Anderson County | 37 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 27 | — | Edwards County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | — | Saline County | 35 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | — | Coffey County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 30 | — | Sumner County | 34 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 31 | — | Pawnee County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | — | Atchison County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 33 | — | Grant County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 34 | — | Comanche County | 32 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | — | Riley County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 36 | — | Rush County | 31 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 37 | — | Stevens County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 38 | — | Doniphan County | 30 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 39 | — | Dickinson County | 29 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 40 | — | Brown County | 29 | low county distress | Labor |
| 41 | — | Douglas County | 29 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 42 | — | Finney County | 29 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 43 | — | Ottawa County | 28 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 44 | — | Osage County | 28 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 45 | — | Rice County | 28 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 46 | — | Jewell County | 28 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 47 | — | Stafford County | 27 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 48 | — | Sherman County | 27 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 49 | — | Leavenworth County | 26 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 50 | — | Clay County | 26 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 51 | — | Morton County | 25 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 52 | — | Lincoln County | 25 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 53 | — | Wallace County | 24 | low county distress | Labor |
| 54 | — | Rooks County | 24 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 55 | — | Kearny County | 23 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 56 | — | Morris County | 23 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 57 | — | Marshall County | 22 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 58 | — | Stanton County | 21 | low county distress | Labor |
| 59 | — | Ellsworth County | 21 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 60 | — | Hamilton County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | — | Cloud County | 21 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | — | Decatur County | 20 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 63 | — | Chase County | 20 | low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 64 | — | Clark County | 20 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 65 | — | Graham County | 20 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 66 | — | Osborne County | 20 | low county distress | Delinquency |
| 67 | — | Butler County | 19 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 68 | — | Pratt County | 19 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 69 | — | Harvey County | 19 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 70 | — | Cheyenne County | 19 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 71 | — | Russell County | 18 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 72 | — | Smith County | 17 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 73 | — | Lane County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 74 | — | Jackson County | 17 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 75 | — | Phillips County | 17 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 76 | — | Wichita County | 16 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 77 | — | Miami County | 14 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 78 | — | Rawlins County | 14 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 79 | — | Norton County | 13 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 80 | — | Marion County | 13 | very low county distress | Labor |
| 81 | — | Republic County | 13 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 82 | — | Logan County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 83 | — | Meade County | 12 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 84 | — | Kiowa County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 85 | — | Kingman County | 12 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 86 | — | Greeley County | 11 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 87 | — | Ellis County | 11 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 88 | — | Hodgeman County | 11 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
| 89 | — | Haskell County | 10 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 90 | — | Scott County | 10 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 91 | — | Thomas County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 92 | — | Wabaunsee County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 93 | — | Barber County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 94 | — | Trego County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 95 | — | Gove County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 96 | — | McPherson County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 97 | — | Jefferson County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 98 | — | Sheridan County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 99 | — | Johnson County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 100 | — | Mitchell County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 101 | — | Ness County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 102 | — | Washington County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 103 | 3,107 | Pottawatomie County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 104 | 3,119 | Nemaha County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 105 | 3,127 | Gray County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
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 — 0 Kansas counties
very high county distress — 1 Kansas county
high county distress — 2 Kansas counties
moderate-high county distress — 1 Kansas county
moderate county distress — 13 Kansas counties
moderate-low county distress — 7 Kansas counties
low-moderate county distress — 14 Kansas counties
low county distress — 28 Kansas counties
very low county distress — 24 Kansas counties
exceptionally low county distress — 15 Kansas counties
Urban Institute data: 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. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it.