About one in 11 people in Franklin County, Kansas, lives below the poverty line
In Franklin County, 8.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 65.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 31.3. About one in seven renters (13.8%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 74% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin 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, Franklin County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (8.7%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (222, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.3% · August 202550th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people222 · 202580th percentile
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- 61.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.7% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.7% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 32.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
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- 32.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.4% · 202415th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,458 · 202434th percentile
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- 31.3 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 rent13.8% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 26.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.9% in 2010 to 8.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 5.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Franklin County, Kansas.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population rose by about a third to 26,273, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 22,004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County rose by about half to 10,062, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 7,775. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.6% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,923 | 2024 $72,458 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Franklin County's history
1957
A tornado in May 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in August 1998 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in November 1998 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in June 2014 did $3,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 25,996, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Franklin County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Franklin County ranks 3rd of the six; Coffey County is highest, at 27.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, KS | 40 | 8.9% | 26.1% |
| Anderson County, KS | 37 | 12.1% | 26.4% |
| Coffey County, KS | 34 | 10.3% | 27.7% |
| Douglas County, KS | 29 | 14.3% | 16.9% |
| Osage County, KS | 28 | 10.7% | 26.1% |
| Miami County, KS | 14 | 7.2% | 17.8% |
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 Franklin County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 90th 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, Franklin County ranks 22nd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.