In Lane County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Lane County, 16.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lane County's score
In Lane County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 46.7. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 7.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lane 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.
Lane 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.
- 46.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.1% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability18.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,004 · 202435th percentile
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- 44.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit 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 score42.5% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 40.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.2% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 14.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.1% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people65.4 · 202517th percentile
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- 7.3 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 rent7.6% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th 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 Lane 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 Lane County, 25.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lane County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lane County moved most in two steps: 17.7% in 1999 to 23.9% in 2004; 23.9% in 2004 to 17.7% in 2009.
In Lane County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 19.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Lane County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lane County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.0% in 2018 to 4.1% in 2019.
The share of households in Lane County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 2.8%
Low on the chart: 2.8% 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, Lane County, Kansas.
How Lane County has changed
Lane County's population had its largest drop, from 2,180 in 1999 to 1,916 in 2004.
Lane County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,482, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 2,730. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lane County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Lane County had its largest drop, from 676 in 2015 to 601 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Lane County fell by about a quarter to 585, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 804 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lane County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.6% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.6% | 2024 10.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,616 | 2024 $72,004 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Lane County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 3,372. The 2020 Census counted 1,574, 47% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
Hail in May 1996 did $1.84 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lane County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lane County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Lane County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lane County ranks 2nd of the five; Ness County is highest, at 27.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finney County, KS | 29 | 11.7% | 16.9% |
| Lane County, KS | 17 | 10.1% | 19.6% |
| Scott County, KS | 10 | 7.1% | 17.6% |
| Gove County, KS | 6 | 10.3% | 15.9% |
| Ness County, KS | 4 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
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 Lane County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Lane County's poverty rate was 10.1% in 2024, 79th 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, Lane County ranks 73rd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lane 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.
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 Lane County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.