About one in seven people with a credit file in Jewell County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jewell County, 13.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jewell County's score
In Jewell County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 62.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 16.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jewell 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, Jewell County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (23.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.3% · 202442nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.5% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability23.3% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.3% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,818 · 202473rd percentile
-
- 43.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202546th 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 score38.6% · second quarter of 202644th percentile
-
- 42.8 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 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.9% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
-
- 23.5 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 rent8.5% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th percentile
-
- 16.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.5% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people70.2 · 202519th percentile
-
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 Jewell 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 Jewell County, 31.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jewell County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jewell County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Jewell County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jewell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.4% in 2022 to 5.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Jewell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen to 4.7%
Low on the chart: 4.4% 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, Jewell County, Kansas.
How Jewell County has changed
Jewell County's population fell by about half to 2,899, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 5,490. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jewell County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Jewell County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 701, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 981 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jewell County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.8% | 2024 12.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,230 | 2024 $58,818 |
The table uses 4.6% 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 Jewell County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 19,420. The 2020 Census counted 2,932, 15% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A tornado in September 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in June 2003 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A tornado in May 2015 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1993
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jewell County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jewell County beside its neighbors
Jewell County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Kansas and Nebraska. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jewell County ranks 4th of the eight; Osborne County is highest, at 30.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewell County, KS | 28 | 12.3% | 28.6% |
| Webster County, NE | 21 | 10.8% | 26.0% |
| Cloud County, KS | 21 | 13.2% | 29.9% |
| Osborne County, KS | 20 | 11.3% | 30.0% |
| Smith County, KS | 17 | 10.5% | 28.6% |
| Republic County, KS | 13 | 10.7% | 29.6% |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 7 | 10.7% | 25.3% |
| Mitchell County, KS | 4 | 9.6% | 23.9% |
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 Jewell County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Jewell County's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 38th 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, Jewell County ranks 46th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jewell 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.
-
Kansas Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Jewell 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 Jewell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.