About one in 13 people in Grant County, Kansas, has a disability
In Grant County, 8.0% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant County's score
In Grant County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 63.9. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 6.5. About one in 15 renters (6.7%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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, Grant County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (16.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (8.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.3% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.3% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.3% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 45.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.4% · 202443rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.6% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability8.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance16.2% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,998 · 202435th percentile
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- 27.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.4% · August 202536th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people70 · 202519th percentile
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- 6.6 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 rent6.7% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th 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 Grant 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 Grant County, 14.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grant County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grant County had its largest rise, from 10.0% in 2014 to 16.7% in 2019.
In Grant County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 16.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Grant County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 16.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2021 low, from 6.4% in 2020 to 1.2% in 2021.
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 1.4%
Low on the chart: 1.2% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grant County, Kansas.
How Grant County has changed
Grant County's population had its largest rise, from 7,115 in 1989 to 7,653 in 1994.
Grant County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 7,968 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Grant County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 3,324 in 2015 to 2,632 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Grant County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 3,526 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.6% | 2024 12.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,653 | 2024 $71,998 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Grant County's history
1930
Dust Bowl devastated prosperity in the 1930s, intensifying Great Depression impact. Wikipedia
1977
A tornado in May 1977 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in June 1996 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 7,909. The 2020 Census counted 7,352, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant County beside its neighbors
Grant County scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grant County ranks 3rd of the five; Kearny County is highest, at 16.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, KS | 32 | 12.4% | 16.1% |
| Stevens County, KS | 30 | 8.9% | 16.6% |
| Kearny County, KS | 23 | 10.6% | 16.9% |
| Stanton County, KS | 21 | 11.1% | 14.5% |
| Haskell County, KS | 10 | 10.1% | 12.2% |
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 Grant County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Grant County's poverty rate was 12.4% in 2024, 35th 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, Grant County ranks 33rd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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 Grant County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.