In Butler County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Butler County, 15.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Butler County's score
In Butler County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 39.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 21.8. About one in 11 children (8.8%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Butler 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.
Butler 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.
- 39.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.9% · August 202537th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people110.7 · 202541st percentile
-
- 35.2 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 rent21.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.1% · fiscal year 20273rd percentile
-
- 32.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.0% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
-
- 31.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.3% · second quarter of 202634th percentile
-
- 21.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.3% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.8% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$83,150 · 202416th percentile
-
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 Butler 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 Butler County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Butler County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Butler County rose most from 11.6% in 1999 to 16.8% in 2009, 2.6 points each step.
In Butler County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Butler County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Butler County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 2012 to 8.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Butler 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: 5.4% 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, Butler County, Kansas.
How Butler County has changed
Butler County's population rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 38,207 in 1974 to 43,302 in 1979.
Butler County's population nearly doubled to 69,158, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 69,158 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Butler County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Butler County nearly doubled to 19,973, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 14,635. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Butler County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.8% | 2024 8.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,988 | 2024 $83,150 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Butler County's history
1958
A tornado in June 1958 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 15 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $250 million in property damage and killed 13 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 67,380, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A tornado in April 2022 did $37 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Butler County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Butler County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Butler County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Butler County ranks 7th of the eight; Elk County is highest, at 38.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk County, KS | 58 | 14.8% | 38.0% |
| Greenwood County, KS | 54 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Cowley County, KS | 50 | 13.2% | 29.7% |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 48 | 12.5% | 18.3% |
| Chase County, KS | 20 | 10.2% | 20.1% |
| Butler County, KS | 19 | 8.3% | 19.3% |
| Harvey County, KS | 19 | 8.5% | 25.2% |
| Marion County, KS | 13 | 9.3% | 28.1% |
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 Butler County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Butler County's poverty rate was 8.3% in 2024, 98th 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, Butler County ranks 67th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Butler 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.
-
Kansas Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Butler 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 Butler County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.