Elk County, Kansas

County Distress Index: Elevated · 62.8 | 2,467 people · 3rd most distressed in Kansas

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Elk County, KS registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 62.8 — 632nd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Kansas, it ranks 3rd of 105 counties. It scores higher than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Elk County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 81.2 — worse than roughly 81% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 81.2
Poverty Rate 73
Income vs. State Median 94
Child Poverty Rate 76
Employment & Wages 77.1
Unemployment Rate 58
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 78
Business Formation Rate 95
Community Vulnerability 76.1
Uninsured Rate 57
Disability Rate 95
Debt & Delinquency 45.6
Debt in Collections 52
Medical Debt 40
Student Loan Delinquency 41
Auto Loan Delinquency 39
Credit Card Delinquency 38
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 64
Housing Cost Burden 33.8
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 28
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 40
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 12
Homeownership Rate 32
Rent-to-Income Ratio 57

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Elk County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Elk County
Elk County, KS 62.8 Elevated
Chautauqua County, KS 61.0 Elevated -1.8
Montgomery County, KS 58.5 Elevated -4.2
Cowley County, KS 55.7 Elevated -7.0
Greenwood County, KS 54.6 Elevated -8.1
Wilson County, KS 46.2 Normal -16.5
Butler County, KS 39.5 Normal -23.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Elk County
Luce County, MI 62.6 Elevated -0.2
Iron County, MO 62.6 Elevated -0.2
Delta County, TX 62.5 Elevated -0.2
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK 62.5 Elevated -0.2
Wheeler County, OR 62.5 Elevated -0.2

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