In Atchison County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Atchison County, 17.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Atchison County's score
In Atchison County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 50.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 22.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Atchison 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.
Atchison 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.
- 50.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.2% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance8.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,578 · 202453rd percentile
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- 47.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.3% · August 202519th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.2% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 43.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202649th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
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- 35.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people99.9 · 202536th percentile
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- 22.5 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 rent14.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.6% · fiscal year 202717th 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 Atchison 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 Atchison County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Atchison County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Atchison County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Atchison County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Atchison County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (9.7% in 2009) to 13.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Atchison County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.7% 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, Atchison County, Kansas.
How Atchison County has changed
Atchison County's population fell 16% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1979 to 1984, reaching 17,579. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Atchison County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Atchison County had its largest drop, from 6,740 in 2005 to 5,837 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Atchison County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 6,926 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Atchison County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.1% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,800 | 2024 $65,578 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Atchison County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 28,606. The 2020 Census counted 16,348, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Atchison County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Atchison County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Atchison County, in Kansas and Missouri, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Atchison County ranks 3rd of the eight; Buchanan County is highest, at 28.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | 71 | 13.5% | 28.7% |
| Atchison County, KS | 32 | 13.9% | 26.9% |
| Doniphan County, KS | 30 | 10.6% | 25.2% |
| Brown County, KS | 29 | 13.1% | 27.7% |
| Leavenworth County, KS | 26 | 9.2% | 20.7% |
| Jackson County, KS | 17 | 8.4% | 23.5% |
| Platte County, MO | 16 | 5.5% | 13.6% |
| Jefferson County, KS | 6 | 7.1% | 22.4% |
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 Atchison County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Atchison County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 14th highest of 105 in Kansas (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Riley County, at 18.1%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Atchison County ranks 32nd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Atchison 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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Kansas Legal Services
Legal aid
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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 Atchison 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 Atchison County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.