In Lincoln County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Lincoln County, 18.3% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 75% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 48.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 18.6. People with a credit card behind: 0.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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.
Lincoln 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.
- 48.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.7% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people171.2 · 202567th percentile
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- 41.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202649th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.1% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 41.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,154 · 202460th percentile
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- 29.6 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 rent15.6% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.3% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
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- 18.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower 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 score29.7% · second quarter of 202612th 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 25.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.2% in 2017 to 5.5% in 2018.
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 6.6%
Low on the chart: 3.1% 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, Lincoln County, Kansas.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population had its largest drop, from 4,287 in 1979 to 3,872 in 1984.
Lincoln County's population fell 37% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 4,632 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County fell 13% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 1,005 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,910 | 2024 $63,154 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Lincoln County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 10,142. The 2020 Census counted 2,939, 29% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lincoln County, two score higher. Of the group, Lincoln County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.5%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saline County, KS | 35 | 10.2% | 21.3% |
| Ottawa County, KS | 28 | 8.9% | 25.6% |
| Lincoln County, KS | 25 | 11.6% | 32.5% |
| Ellsworth County, KS | 21 | 13.1% | 27.3% |
| Osborne County, KS | 20 | 11.3% | 30.0% |
| Russell County, KS | 18 | 12.7% | 27.3% |
| 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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 52nd 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, Lincoln County ranks 52nd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.