About one in 12 people in Jackson County, Kansas, lives below the poverty line
In Jackson County, 8.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jackson County's score
In Jackson County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 50.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.0. People with a credit card behind: 1.6%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jackson 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.
Jackson 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.
- 50.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202735th percentile
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- 36.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.2% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people134.6 · 202553rd percentile
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- 29.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.4% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.1% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,722 · 202433rd percentile
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- 22.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.0% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
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- 14.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.6% · second quarter of 202631st 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jackson County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jackson County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Jackson County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jackson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.8% in 2013 to 6.1% in 2014.
The share of households in Jackson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jackson County, Kansas.
How Jackson County has changed
Jackson County's population rose by about a third to 13,525, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 11,514. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jackson County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Jackson County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,454, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 4,711 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jackson County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 8.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,348 | 2024 $72,722 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Jackson County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,117. The 2020 Census counted 13,232, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A flash flood in February 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in June 2008 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jackson County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jackson County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Jackson County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jackson County ranks 3rd of the seven; Brown County is highest, at 27.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee County, KS | 55 | 12.0% | 23.4% |
| Atchison County, KS | 32 | 13.9% | 26.9% |
| Brown County, KS | 29 | 13.1% | 27.7% |
| Jackson County, KS | 17 | 8.4% | 23.5% |
| Jefferson County, KS | 6 | 7.1% | 22.4% |
| Pottawatomie County, KS | 1 | 6.8% | 15.2% |
| Nemaha County, KS | 0 | 8.6% | 18.0% |
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 Jackson County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Jackson County's poverty rate was 8.4% in 2024, 96th 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, Jackson County ranks 74th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.