About one in seven people with a credit file in Cheyenne County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Cheyenne County, 14.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cheyenne County's score
In Cheyenne County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 53.6. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 17.4. 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 Cheyenne 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.
Even so, Cheyenne County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (12.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 53.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.9% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance12.6% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,313 · 202466th percentile
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- 37.5 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 score36.7% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 27.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.9% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202536th percentile
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- 23.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.9% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
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- 17.4 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 income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th 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 Cheyenne 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 Cheyenne County, 26.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cheyenne County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cheyenne County had its largest rise, from 19.2% in 1999 to 35.3% in 2004.
In Cheyenne County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Cheyenne County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cheyenne County getting SNAP food aid fell most from 5.8% in 2014 to 2.2% in 2016, 1.8 points each year.
The share of households in Cheyenne County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 1.7% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cheyenne County, Kansas.
How Cheyenne County has changed
Cheyenne County's population had its largest drop, from 3,214 in 1999 to 2,922 in 2004.
Cheyenne County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 4,285 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cheyenne County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Cheyenne County fell most sharply on the way to its 2005 low, from 960 in 2000 to 843 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Cheyenne County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 960 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cheyenne County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 0.9% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.0% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,129 | 2024 $61,313 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Cheyenne County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 6,948. The 2020 Census counted 2,616, 38% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
A tornado in June 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in March 2007 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 2005
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cheyenne County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cheyenne County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Cheyenne County, in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cheyenne County ranks 3rd of the six; Sherman County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma County, CO | 29 | 13.4% | 21.5% |
| Sherman County, KS | 27 | 12.4% | 27.0% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 21 | 12.9% | 26.8% |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 19 | 11.6% | 25.7% |
| Rawlins County, KS | 14 | 10.8% | 22.6% |
| Dundy County, NE | 8 | 12.9% | 21.4% |
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 Cheyenne County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Cheyenne County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 52nd 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, Cheyenne County ranks 70th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cheyenne 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 Cheyenne 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 Cheyenne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.