Name: Ellsworth County, Kansas — County Distress Index
Creator: American Default
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Ellsworth County, KS ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 30.2 — 2880th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where the job market is relatively stable with wages that keep pace with costs. Within Kansas, it ranks 91st of 105 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Ellsworth County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 41.0 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 41.0

Unemployment Rate 27

Wage-to-Rent Ratio 15

Business Formation Rate 82

Income & Poverty 36.3

Poverty Rate 40

Income vs. State Median 39

Child Poverty Rate 30

Debt & Delinquency 31.1

Debt in Collections 27

Medical Debt 25

Student Loan Delinquency 41

Auto Loan Delinquency 32

Credit Card Delinquency 5

Bankruptcy Filing Rate 57

Community Vulnerability 30.4

Uninsured Rate 5

Disability Rate 56

Housing Cost Burden 12.0

Rent-Burdened (30%+) 19

Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 9

Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 14

Homeownership Rate 12

Rent-to-Income Ratio 6

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County	Score	Zone	vs. Ellsworth County
Ellsworth County, KS	30.2	Healthy	—
Barton County, KS	52.4	Elevated	+22.3
Russell County, KS	49.4	Normal	+19.3
Saline County, KS	48.4	Normal	+18.2
Lincoln County, KS	44.2	Normal	+14.1
Rice County, KS	36.9	Normal	+6.7
McPherson County, KS	27.3	Healthy	-2.8

Population Peers

County	Score	Zone	vs. Ellsworth County
Armstrong County, TX	30.2	Healthy	0.0
McIntosh County, ND	30.2	Healthy	+0.1
Grant County, SD	30.1	Healthy	-0.1
Greeley County, NE	29.9	Healthy	-0.3
Jackson County, MN	29.9	Healthy	-0.3

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Ellsworth County as a CSV file.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the distress score for Ellsworth County, Kansas?

Ellsworth County has a County Distress Index score of 30.2 out of 100, placing it in the Healthy zone. It ranks 2,880th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 91st in Kansas out of 105 counties.
What drives financial distress in Ellsworth County?

The primary driver of distress in Ellsworth County is Employment & Wages, where the county scores 41.0 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Unemployment Rate, Wage-to-Rent Ratio, Business Formation Rate.
How does Ellsworth County compare to neighboring counties?

Ellsworth County (30.2) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Barton County, KS (52.4); Russell County, KS (49.4); Saline County, KS (48.4).
How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.
What is the population of Ellsworth County?

Ellsworth County, Kansas has a population of approximately 6,357 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.