In Kearny County, Kansas, benefit checks make up only 17 cents of every dollar of income
In Kearny County, 16.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kearny County's score
In Kearny County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 42.7. Jobs are the lowest part, at 21.5. About one in seven adults aged 25 to 54 (15.3%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 82% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kearny 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, Kearny County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (11.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 42.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.6% · August 202520th 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 score45.7% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 39.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.6% · 202427th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance11.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,863 · 202419th percentile
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- 37.0 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 rent4.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.7% · fiscal year 202768th percentile
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- 32.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.6% · August 202540th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people78.5 · 202524th percentile
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- 21.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.3% · 2020 to 202417th 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 Kearny 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 Kearny County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kearny County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Kearny County had its largest drop, from 15.9% in 2009 to 11.8% in 2014.
In Kearny County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 16.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Kearny County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kearny County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.4% in 2021 to 10.1% in 2022.
The share of households in Kearny County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kearny County, Kansas.
How Kearny County has changed
Kearny County's population had its largest rise, from 3,396 in 1979 to 3,896 in 1984.
Kearny County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 4,521 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kearny County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kearny County rose by about half to 1,631, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 1,631. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kearny County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.6% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.5% | 2024 10.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $33,612 | 2024 $80,863 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Kearny County's history
1873
Established March 6, 1873, dissolved 1883, reestablished 1887, organized March 27, 1888. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 4,531. The 2020 Census counted 3,983, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
A thunderstorm in October 2008 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kearny County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kearny County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Kearny County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kearny County ranks 4th of the six; Wichita County is highest, at 18.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, KS | 32 | 12.4% | 16.1% |
| Finney County, KS | 29 | 11.7% | 16.9% |
| Kearny County, KS | 23 | 10.6% | 16.9% |
| Hamilton County, KS | 21 | 12.9% | 12.5% |
| Wichita County, KS | 16 | 10.9% | 18.3% |
| Scott County, KS | 10 | 7.1% | 17.6% |
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 Kearny County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Kearny County's poverty rate was 10.6% in 2024, 67th 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, Kearny County ranks 55th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kearny 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 Kearny 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 Kearny County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.