About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Chase County, Kansas, have a job
In Chase County, 12.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chase County's score
In Chase County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 48.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 9.6. About one in 19 renters (5.2%, 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 Chase 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.
Chase 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.
- 48.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people155.1 · 202561st percentile
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- 37.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.0% · 202433rd percentile
- People with a disability14.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- People without health insurance7.3% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,466 · 202447th percentile
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- 36.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.9% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
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- 30.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202537th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202538th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.8% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 9.6 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 rent5.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th 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 Chase 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 Chase County, 25.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chase County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chase County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Chase County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Chase County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.9% in 2018 to 6.0% in 2019.
The share of households in Chase County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 5.6%
Low on the chart: 3.6% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chase County, Kansas.
How Chase County has changed
Chase County's population fell by about a quarter to 2,507, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2004 to 2009, reaching 2,779. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chase County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Chase County rose most sharply after its 2015 low, from 700 in 2015 to 868 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Chase County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 868 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chase County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.7% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,376 | 2024 $67,466 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Chase County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 8,246. The 2020 Census counted 2,572, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in May 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1987
A tornado in May 1987 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in August 2003 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chase County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chase County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Chase County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Chase County ranks 5th of the six; Greenwood County is highest, at 32.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenwood County, KS | 54 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Lyon County, KS | 47 | 13.5% | 24.4% |
| Morris County, KS | 23 | 10.5% | 28.1% |
| Chase County, KS | 20 | 10.2% | 20.1% |
| Butler County, KS | 19 | 8.3% | 19.3% |
| 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 Chase County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Chase County's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 76th 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, Chase County ranks 63rd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chase 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.
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 Chase County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.