In Greeley County, Kansas, benefit checks make up only 11 cents of every dollar of income
In Greeley County, 11.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greeley County's score
In Greeley County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 45.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Almost no renters (0.0%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greeley 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.
Greeley 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.
- 45.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit 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 score42.9% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 32.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.2% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,267 · 202428th percentile
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- 29.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202530th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people84.7 · 202527th percentile
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- 18.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 5.0 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 rent0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.3% · fiscal year 20275th 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 Greeley 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 Greeley County, 18.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greeley County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Greeley County had its largest rise, from 12.7% in 1999 to 18.5% in 2004.
In Greeley County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 11.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks
In Greeley County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Greeley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 3.9% in 2021 to 1.8% in 2022.
The share of households in Greeley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 2.0%
Low on the chart: 1.0% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Greeley County, Kansas.
How Greeley County has changed
Greeley County's population had its largest drop, from 1,539 in 1999 to 1,366 in 2004.
Greeley County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 1,929 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greeley County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Greeley County had its largest rise, from 576 in 2010 to 690 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Greeley County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 690 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greeley County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.1% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,811 | 2024 $75,267 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Greeley County's history
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 2,087. The 2020 Census counted 1,284, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2005
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greeley County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greeley County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Greeley County, in Kansas and Colorado, score higher than it does. Of the group, Greeley County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Prowers County gets the largest, at 31.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prowers County, CO | 62 | 19.0% | 31.0% |
| Kiowa County, CO | 29 | 14.7% | 23.8% |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 27 | 13.2% | 21.0% |
| Wallace County, KS | 24 | 12.2% | 19.2% |
| Hamilton County, KS | 21 | 12.9% | 12.5% |
| Wichita County, KS | 16 | 10.9% | 18.3% |
| Greeley County, KS | 11 | 9.9% | 11.1% |
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 Greeley County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Greeley County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 83rd 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, Greeley County ranks 86th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greeley 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 Greeley 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 Greeley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.