About one in six people with a credit file in Harper County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Harper County, 17.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 70% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Harper County's score
In Harper County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 64.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 25.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 73.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Harper 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, Harper County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($56,765, 2024) and people with a disability (19.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.3% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 64.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.3% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,765 · 202478th percentile
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- 51.9 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 working24.0% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
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- 43.5 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 25.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.8% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people73.6 · 202521st 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 Harper 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 Harper County, 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Harper County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Harper County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 25.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Harper County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Harper County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.5% in 2016 to 9.7% in 2017.
The share of households in Harper County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 9.8%
Low on the chart: 6.3% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Harper County, Kansas.
How Harper County has changed
Harper County's population had its largest drop, from 7,262 in 1989 to 6,742 in 1994.
Harper County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5,413, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 7,673. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Harper County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Harper County rose 6% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 2,464 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Harper County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.3% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.1% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,454 | 2024 $56,765 |
The table uses 3.5% 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 Harper County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 14,748. The 2020 Census counted 5,485, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A tornado in May 2004 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in May 2007 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in April 2009 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Harper County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Harper County beside its neighbors
Harper County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Kansas and Oklahoma. Of the group, Harper County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Barber County gets the largest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harper County, KS | 49 | 13.6% | 25.0% |
| Grant County, OK | 46 | 15.1% | 25.4% |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 40 | 18.1% | 26.0% |
| Sumner County, KS | 34 | 10.7% | 26.5% |
| Kingman County, KS | 12 | 10.6% | 26.9% |
| Barber County, KS | 7 | 10.0% | 30.3% |
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 Harper County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Harper County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 17th 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, Harper County ranks 18th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Harper 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 Harper 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 Harper County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.