About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Cloud County, Kansas, have a job
In Cloud County, 13.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cloud County's score
In Cloud County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 46.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 13.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cloud 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.
Cloud 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.
- 46.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.6% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,007 · 202464th percentile
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- 41.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.3% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
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- 38.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.6% · August 202540th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people101.6 · 202536th percentile
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- 26.6 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 rent13.7% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
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- 13.6 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 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.3% · 2020 to 20249th 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 Cloud 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 Cloud County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cloud County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cloud County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Cloud County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cloud County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.1% in 2019 to 5.8% in 2020.
The share of households in Cloud County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.4% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cloud County, Kansas.
How Cloud County has changed
Cloud County's population had its largest drop, from 11,997 in 1984 to 11,219 in 1989.
Cloud County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8,723, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2009 to 2014, reaching 9,471. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cloud County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Cloud County had its largest drop, from 3,517 in 2015 to 3,089 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Cloud County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2020, reaching 3,089, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 3,988 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cloud County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,734 | 2024 $62,007 |
The table uses 3.3% 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 Cloud County's history
1902
Republican River flooded and broke dam; river rerouted by 1/4 mile. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 18,388. The 2020 Census counted 9,032, 49% of the peak. Census Bureau
1943
Camp Concordia operated as World War II German prisoner of war internment camp. Wikipedia
1967
A tornado in June 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1967
A tornado in June 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in September 1973 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A tornado in May 2004 did $2.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cloud County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cloud County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cloud County, three score higher. Of the group, Cloud County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (29.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa County, KS | 28 | 8.9% | 25.6% |
| Jewell County, KS | 28 | 12.3% | 28.6% |
| Clay County, KS | 26 | 10.2% | 28.0% |
| Cloud County, KS | 21 | 13.2% | 29.9% |
| Republic County, KS | 13 | 10.7% | 29.6% |
| Mitchell County, KS | 4 | 9.6% | 23.9% |
| Washington County, KS | 3 | 11.1% | 26.3% |
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 Cloud County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Cloud County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 21st 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, Cloud County ranks 61st of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cloud 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 Cloud County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.