About one in 15 people with a credit file in Gove County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Gove County, 6.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Gove County's score
In Gove County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 30.1. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Gove 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.
Gove 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.
- 30.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th 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 score36.9% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 29.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.3% · 202424th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability12.4% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,836 · 202431st percentile
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- 26.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 19.6 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 rent15.4% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.6% · fiscal year 20275th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector6.8% · August 20255th or lower 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 Gove 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 Gove County, 22.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Gove County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Gove County had its largest drop, from 22.7% in 2004 to 16.5% in 2009.
In Gove County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 348% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Gove County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Gove County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 4.5% in 2018 to 3.1% in 2019.
The share of households in Gove County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 2.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Gove County, Kansas.
How Gove County has changed
Gove County's population fell by about a third to 2,658, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 3,261. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Gove County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Gove County had its largest rise, from 1,029 in 1990 to 1,146 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Gove County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2020, reaching 1,234, then turned down in 2025
High on the chart: 1,234 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Gove County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.4% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.0% | 2024 10.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,110 | 2024 $73,836 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Gove County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 6,044. The 2020 Census counted 2,718, 45% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
Hail in May 1995 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
Hail in May 1995 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 2005
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Gove County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Gove County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Gove County, six score higher. Of the group, Gove County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Graham County gets the largest, at 27.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham County, KS | 20 | 13.7% | 27.8% |
| Lane County, KS | 17 | 10.1% | 19.6% |
| Logan County, KS | 12 | 10.1% | 22.0% |
| Scott County, KS | 10 | 7.1% | 17.6% |
| Thomas County, KS | 9 | 9.7% | 19.5% |
| Trego County, KS | 7 | 10.4% | 27.3% |
| Gove County, KS | 6 | 10.3% | 15.9% |
| Sheridan County, KS | 6 | 9.5% | 22.2% |
| Ness County, KS | 4 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
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 Gove County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Gove County's poverty rate was 10.3% in 2024, 74th 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, Gove County ranks 95th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Gove 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.
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 Gove County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.