In Edwards County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Edwards County, 18.1% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Edwards County's score
In Edwards County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 57.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 20.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 36.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Edwards 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, Edwards County is worse off than most counties on adults 25 to 54 not working (27.5%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a subprime credit score (50.4%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.9% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance10.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,811 · 202458th percentile
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- 55.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 52.4 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 score50.4% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 25.6 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 rent14.5% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 20.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people36.6 · 20255th or lower 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 Edwards 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 Edwards County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Edwards County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Edwards County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 21.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Edwards County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Edwards County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.1% in 2012 to 6.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Edwards County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half to 4.5%, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 10.2% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Edwards County, Kansas.
How Edwards County has changed
Edwards County's population fell 41% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1979 to 1984, reaching 4,077. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Edwards County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Edwards County had its largest drop, from 1,125 in 2015 to 921 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Edwards County fell 6% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 921 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Edwards County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.0% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,460 | 2024 $63,811 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Edwards County's history
1874
Grasshopper infestation decimated crops. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 7,295. The 2020 Census counted 2,907, 40% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A thunderstorm in August 1996 did $1.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in August 1996 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in May 2007 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in June 2009 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Edwards County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Edwards County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Edwards County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Edwards County ranks 5th of the seven; Kiowa County is highest, at 30.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford County, KS | 37 | 14.8% | 17.4% |
| Edwards County, KS | 36 | 11.8% | 21.4% |
| Pawnee County, KS | 32 | 13.6% | 28.0% |
| Stafford County, KS | 27 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Pratt County, KS | 19 | 13.2% | 22.6% |
| Kiowa County, KS | 12 | 12.0% | 30.2% |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 11 | 9.6% | 18.7% |
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 Edwards County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Edwards County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 47th 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, Edwards County ranks 27th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Edwards 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 Edwards 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 Edwards County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.