About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Hodgeman County, Kansas, have a job
In Hodgeman County, 10.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hodgeman County's score
In Hodgeman County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 44.4. Jobs are the lowest part, at 13.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hodgeman 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.
Hodgeman 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.
- 44.4 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 score42.1% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 27.6 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 rent17.8% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 22.8 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 people60.4 · 202514th percentile
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- 19.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.6% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.4% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability12.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance4.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,127 · 202435th percentile
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- 13.3 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 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.3% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Hodgeman 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 Hodgeman County, 22.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hodgeman County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hodgeman County had its largest rise, from 14.0% in 2014 to 19.1% in 2019.
In Hodgeman County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 18.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Hodgeman County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hodgeman County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.7% in 2014 to 4.1% in 2015.
The share of households in Hodgeman County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 4.3%
Low on the chart: 2.9% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hodgeman County, Kansas.
How Hodgeman County has changed
Hodgeman County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 2,489. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hodgeman County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hodgeman County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 615, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 616 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hodgeman County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.4% | 2024 9.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,595 | 2024 $72,127 |
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 Hodgeman County's history
1882
Beersheba, Russian Jewish agricultural colony founded by Am Olam movement. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 4,157. The 2020 Census counted 1,723, 41% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A flash flood in May 2015 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hodgeman County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hodgeman County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hodgeman County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hodgeman County ranks 4th of the seven; Pawnee County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford County, KS | 37 | 14.8% | 17.4% |
| Edwards County, KS | 36 | 11.8% | 21.4% |
| Pawnee County, KS | 32 | 13.6% | 28.0% |
| Finney County, KS | 29 | 11.7% | 16.9% |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 11 | 9.6% | 18.7% |
| Ness County, KS | 4 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
| Gray County, KS | 0 | 7.9% | 12.6% |
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 Hodgeman County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Hodgeman County's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 85th 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, Hodgeman County ranks 88th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hodgeman 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 Hodgeman 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 Hodgeman County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.