About one in 11 people in Leavenworth County, Kansas, lives below the poverty line
In Leavenworth County, 9.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Leavenworth County's score
In Leavenworth County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 49.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 20.8. The typical household earns $91,056 a year (2024), more than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Leavenworth 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.
Leavenworth 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.
- 49.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.9% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people132.9 · 202552nd percentile
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- 43.2 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 rent16.4% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 41.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 27.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.1% · second quarter of 202626th percentile
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- 20.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.2% · 202416th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.3% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$91,056 · 202410th 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 Leavenworth 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 Leavenworth County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Leavenworth County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Leavenworth County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Leavenworth County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Leavenworth County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.8% in 2021 to 5.7% in 2022.
The share of households in Leavenworth County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 5.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Leavenworth County, Kansas.
How Leavenworth County has changed
Leavenworth County's population rose by more than half to 84,670, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 59,429. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Leavenworth County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Leavenworth County rose by about a quarter to 21,756, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 21,756. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Leavenworth County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.8% | 2024 9.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,461 | 2024 $91,056 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Leavenworth County's history
1827
Fort Leavenworth established in 1827 as Cantonment Leavenworth. Wikipedia
1964
A tornado in April 1964 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1966
A tornado in June 1966 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $26 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 81,881, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Leavenworth County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Leavenworth County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Leavenworth County, in Kansas and Missouri, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Leavenworth County ranks 4th of the seven; Atchison County is highest, at 26.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyandotte County, KS | 89 | 15.0% | 25.8% |
| Atchison County, KS | 32 | 13.9% | 26.9% |
| Douglas County, KS | 29 | 14.3% | 16.9% |
| Leavenworth County, KS | 26 | 9.2% | 20.7% |
| Platte County, MO | 16 | 5.5% | 13.6% |
| Jefferson County, KS | 6 | 7.1% | 22.4% |
| Johnson County, KS | 5 | 6.0% | 10.4% |
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 Leavenworth County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Leavenworth County's poverty rate was 9.2% in 2024, 89th 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, Leavenworth County ranks 49th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Leavenworth 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 Leavenworth 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 Leavenworth County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.