About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Doniphan County, Kansas, have a job
In Doniphan County, 11.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Doniphan County's score
In Doniphan County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 53.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 25.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Doniphan 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.
Doniphan 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.
- 53.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.1% · August 202553rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people133.5 · 202553rd percentile
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- 44.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.5% · second quarter of 202639th percentile
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- 36.6 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 rent17.1% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 32.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.6% · 202427th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.1% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,442 · 202440th percentile
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- 25.7 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 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.8% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Doniphan 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 Doniphan County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Doniphan County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Doniphan County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Doniphan County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Doniphan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.5% in 2018 to 7.4% in 2019.
The share of households in Doniphan County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 7.5%, with its low point on the chart in 2023
Low on the chart: 6.0% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Doniphan County, Kansas.
How Doniphan County has changed
Doniphan County's population had its largest drop, from 8,262 in 1989 to 7,822 in 1994.
Doniphan County's population fell 17% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 9,171 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Doniphan County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Doniphan County rose by about a fifth to 2,817, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 2,817 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Doniphan County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.2% | 2024 10.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,346 | 2024 $70,442 |
The table uses 4.0% 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 Doniphan County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 15,079. The 2020 Census counted 7,510, 50% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Doniphan County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Doniphan County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Doniphan County, in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Doniphan County ranks 5th of the seven; Buchanan County is highest, at 28.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | 71 | 13.5% | 28.7% |
| Atchison County, KS | 32 | 13.9% | 26.9% |
| Doniphan County, KS | 30 | 10.6% | 25.2% |
| Brown County, KS | 29 | 13.1% | 27.7% |
| Holt County, MO | 22 | 12.7% | 24.0% |
| Richardson County, NE | 18 | 11.4% | 27.4% |
| Andrew County, MO | 8 | 7.8% | 18.8% |
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 Doniphan County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Doniphan County's poverty rate was 10.6% in 2024, 67th 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, Doniphan County ranks 38th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Doniphan 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 Doniphan 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 Doniphan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.