About one in eight people with a credit file in Graham County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Graham County, 12.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Graham County's score
In Graham County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 44.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 18.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Graham 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.
Graham 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.
- 44.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.4% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,788 · 202471st percentile
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- 37.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 32.3 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 score32.3% · second quarter of 202620th percentile
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- 29.7 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 rent13.5% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th percentile
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- 18.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.4% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people84.2 · 202527th 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 Graham 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 Graham County, 27.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Graham County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Graham County made its largest gain on the way to its 2004 high, from 20.7% in 1999 to 29.5% in 2004.
In Graham County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Graham County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Graham County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.3% in 2016 to 7.6% in 2017.
The share of households in Graham County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 3.7% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Graham County, Kansas.
How Graham County has changed
Graham County's population fell by about half to 2,370, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 3,625. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Graham County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Graham County had its largest drop, from 929 in 2015 to 826 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Graham County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 786, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 1,014. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Graham County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.2% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.4% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,133 | 2024 $59,788 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Graham County's history
1877
Nicodemus founded by African Americans during Reconstruction, only remaining western town of its kind. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 8,700. The 2020 Census counted 2,415, 28% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in June 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in June 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Graham County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Graham County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Graham County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Graham County ranks 2nd of the seven; Rooks County is highest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooks County, KS | 24 | 11.3% | 30.1% |
| Graham County, KS | 20 | 13.7% | 27.8% |
| Phillips County, KS | 17 | 11.7% | 23.6% |
| Norton County, KS | 13 | 12.6% | 21.4% |
| Trego County, KS | 7 | 10.4% | 27.3% |
| Gove County, KS | 6 | 10.3% | 15.9% |
| Sheridan County, KS | 6 | 9.5% | 22.2% |
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 Graham County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Graham County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 16th 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, Graham County ranks 65th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Graham 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 Graham 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 Graham County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.