Benefit checks make up 32 cents of every dollar of income in Greenwood County, Kansas
In Greenwood County, 32.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greenwood County's score
In Greenwood County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 63.7. The typical household earns $55,780 a year (2024), less than in 81% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 52.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greenwood 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.
Greenwood County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (16.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (4.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.8% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,780 · 202481st percentile
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- 52.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.5% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 51.3 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 rent18.6% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 50.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.3% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people136.3 · 202554th percentile
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- 45.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.6% · 2020 to 202424th 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 Greenwood 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 Greenwood County, 26.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greenwood County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Greenwood County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 32.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Greenwood County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Greenwood County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 14.7% in 2023 to 12.2% in 2024.
The share of households in Greenwood County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Greenwood County, Kansas.
How Greenwood County has changed
Greenwood County's population fell 37% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 7,858. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greenwood County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Greenwood County fell by about a quarter to 1,495, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 1,639. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greenwood County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,217 | 2024 $55,780 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Greenwood County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 19,235. The 2020 Census counted 6,016, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in March 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in April 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A tornado in July 2016 did $3.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A tornado in June 2018 did $13.69 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greenwood County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greenwood County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Greenwood County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Greenwood County ranks 3rd of the eight; Elk County is highest, at 38.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodson County, KS | 58 | 12.9% | 30.8% |
| Elk County, KS | 58 | 14.8% | 38.0% |
| Greenwood County, KS | 54 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Lyon County, KS | 47 | 13.5% | 24.4% |
| Wilson County, KS | 40 | 12.8% | 33.7% |
| Coffey County, KS | 34 | 10.3% | 27.7% |
| Chase County, KS | 20 | 10.2% | 20.1% |
| Butler County, KS | 19 | 8.3% | 19.3% |
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 Greenwood County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Greenwood County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 12th 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, Greenwood County ranks 14th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greenwood 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 Greenwood 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 Greenwood County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.