About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Barber County, Kansas, have a job
In Barber County, 9.2% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Barber County's score
In Barber County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 43.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 6.8. About one in 23 renters (4.3%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Barber 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.
Barber 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.
- 43.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.9% · second quarter of 202652nd percentile
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- 38.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.6% · 202436th percentile
- People with a disability15.8% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,766 · 202439th percentile
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- 15.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.0% · August 202522nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people49.1 · 20259th percentile
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- 10.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 6.8 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 rent4.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.3% · fiscal year 20278th 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 Barber 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 Barber County, 23.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Barber County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Barber County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Barber County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.3%; 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 Barber County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half to 2.8%, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2011 to 2012, reaching 6.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Barber County, Kansas.
How Barber County has changed
Barber County's population fell 43% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 5,965. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Barber County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Barber County had its largest drop, from 2,105 in 1990 to 1,843 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Barber County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,538
High on the chart: 2,105 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Barber County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,771 | 2024 $70,766 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Barber County's history
1873
Formed 1867 from parts of Washington, Peketon, and Marion counties; organized 1873. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 10,178. The 2020 Census counted 4,228, 42% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Barber County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Barber County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Barber County, in Kansas and Oklahoma, score higher than it does. Of the group, Barber County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (30.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harper County, KS | 49 | 13.6% | 25.0% |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 40 | 18.1% | 26.0% |
| Woods County, OK | 34 | 14.9% | 24.1% |
| Comanche County, KS | 32 | 11.8% | 30.1% |
| Pratt County, KS | 19 | 13.2% | 22.6% |
| Kiowa County, KS | 12 | 12.0% | 30.2% |
| Kingman County, KS | 12 | 10.6% | 26.9% |
| Barber County, KS | 7 | 10.0% | 30.3% |
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 Barber County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Barber County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 82nd 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, Barber County ranks 93rd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Barber 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 Barber 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 Barber County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.