About one in five people in Chautauqua County, Kansas, has a disability
In Chautauqua County, 22.3% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chautauqua County's score
In Chautauqua County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 79.5. Jobs come next, at 72.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chautauqua 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.
Chautauqua County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (21.6%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.2% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.8% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability22.3% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance11.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,122 · 202484th percentile
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- 72.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.3% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 45.8 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 score43.2% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 45.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.6% · August 202544th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people119.5 · 202546th percentile
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- 38.3 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 rent12.3% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th 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 Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County, 24.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chautauqua County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chautauqua County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 35.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Chautauqua County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Chautauqua County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 7.8% in 2010 to 11.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Chautauqua County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.0%
Low on the chart: 7.8% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chautauqua County, Kansas.
How Chautauqua County has changed
Chautauqua County's population had its largest drop, from 4,139 in 2004 to 3,691 in 2009.
Chautauqua County's population fell 30% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 5,051 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chautauqua County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Chautauqua County fell by about a quarter to 748, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 1,001 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chautauqua County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.3% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,600 | 2024 $54,122 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Chautauqua County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 11,804. The 2020 Census counted 3,379, 29% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chautauqua County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chautauqua County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Chautauqua County, in Kansas and Oklahoma, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Chautauqua County ranks 2nd of the six; Elk County is highest, at 38.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osage County, OK | 78 | 15.3% | 25.6% |
| Montgomery County, KS | 72 | 14.6% | 32.9% |
| Chautauqua County, KS | 59 | 15.2% | 35.1% |
| Washington County, OK | 59 | 13.8% | 12.0% |
| Elk County, KS | 58 | 14.8% | 38.0% |
| Cowley County, KS | 50 | 13.2% | 29.7% |
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 Chautauqua County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Chautauqua County's poverty rate was 15.2% in 2024, 5th 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, Chautauqua County ranks 5th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.