In Meade County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Meade County, 15.3% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Meade County's score
In Meade County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 41.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 16.7. About one in seven adults aged 25 to 54 (14.7%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 85% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Meade 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.
Meade 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.
- 41.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st 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 score38.1% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
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- 35.3 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 line13.9% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability12.4% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance10.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,285 · 202428th percentile
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- 23.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.5% · August 202524th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people76.7 · 202523rd percentile
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- 17.5 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 rent14.8% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.3% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 16.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.7% · 2020 to 202414th 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 Meade 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 Meade 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
Meade County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Meade County had its largest drop, from 17.5% in 2009 to 12.0% in 2014.
In Meade County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 15.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Meade County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Meade County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2019 low, from 6.8% in 2018 to 3.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Meade County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 6.5%
Low on the chart: 3.7% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Meade County, Kansas.
How Meade County has changed
Meade County's population fell by about a fifth to 3,892, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 4,364. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Meade County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Meade County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,624, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 1,646 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Meade County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.6% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.8% | 2024 10.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,133 | 2024 $75,285 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Meade County's history
1879
Settled in 1879 by a company of sixteen families from Zanesville, Ohio led by John Jobling. Wikipedia
1879
Large sinkhole filled with saltwater, known as Salt Well, appeared in county on March 16, 1879. Wikipedia
1880
William Sturgis first produced commercial solar salt from the Salt Well in 1880. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 6,858. The 2020 Census counted 4,055, 59% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
A tornado in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in May 1998 did $1.65 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in May 2019 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Meade County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Meade County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Meade County, in Kansas and Oklahoma, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Meade County ranks 4th of the seven; Clark County is highest, at 24.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seward County, KS | 40 | 13.1% | 17.9% |
| Ford County, KS | 37 | 14.8% | 17.4% |
| Clark County, KS | 20 | 12.5% | 24.7% |
| Beaver County, OK | 15 | 12.5% | 15.5% |
| Meade County, KS | 12 | 10.6% | 15.9% |
| Haskell County, KS | 10 | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| Gray County, KS | 0 | 7.9% | 12.6% |
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 Meade County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Meade 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, Meade County ranks 83rd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Meade 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 Meade County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.