Kiowa County, Kansas

County Distress Index: Normal · 42.2 | 2,374 people · 48th most distressed in Kansas
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Kiowa County, KS falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 42.2 — 2198th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where employment and wage conditions show moderate stress. Within Kansas, it ranks 48th of 105 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Kiowa County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 55.0 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 55.0
Unemployment Rate 30
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 63
Business Formation Rate 71
Community Vulnerability 51.4
Uninsured Rate 51
Disability Rate 51
Income & Poverty 46.1
Poverty Rate 38
Income vs. State Median 74
Child Poverty Rate 26
Housing Cost Burden 30.6
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 31
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 6
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 42
Homeownership Rate 49
Rent-to-Income Ratio 25
Debt & Delinquency 27.7
Debt in Collections 15
Medical Debt 27
Student Loan Delinquency 41
Auto Loan Delinquency 39
Credit Card Delinquency 38
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 7

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Kiowa County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Kiowa County
Kiowa County, KS 42.2 Normal —
Comanche County, KS 51.3 Elevated +9.2
Ford County, KS 40.7 Normal -1.5
Edwards County, KS 40.0 Normal -2.2
Barber County, KS 38.3 Normal -3.9
Pratt County, KS 35.2 Normal -7.0
Clark County, KS 33.2 Healthy -8.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Kiowa County
Keith County, NE 42.1 Normal -0.0
Dolores County, CO 42.1 Normal -0.0
Chase County, KS 42.2 Normal +0.1
Osborne County, KS 42.0 Normal -0.1
Butte County, ID 42.3 Normal +0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Kiowa County as a CSV file.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Kiowa County, Kansas?

    Kiowa County has a County Distress Index score of 42.2 out of 100, placing it in the Normal zone. It ranks 2,198th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 48th in Kansas out of 105 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Kiowa County?

    The primary driver of distress in Kiowa County is Employment & Wages, where the county scores 55.0 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Unemployment Rate, Wage-to-Rent Ratio, Business Formation Rate.

  • How does Kiowa County compare to neighboring counties?

    Kiowa County (42.2) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Comanche County, KS (51.3); Ford County, KS (40.7); Edwards County, KS (40.0).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Kiowa County?

    Kiowa County, Kansas has a population of approximately 2,374 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.