About one in 12 people with a credit file in Mitchell County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Mitchell County, 8.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mitchell County's score
In Mitchell County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 35.7. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 7.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mitchell 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.
Mitchell 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.
- 35.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.6% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,954 · 202443rd percentile
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- 32.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.0% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
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- 13.5 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 rent11.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 8.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind0.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.0% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 7.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people52.5 · 202510th 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 Mitchell 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 Mitchell County, 22.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mitchell County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mitchell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Mitchell County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mitchell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 2.9% in 2013 to 5.0% in 2014.
The share of households in Mitchell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 5.1%
Low on the chart: 2.6% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mitchell County, Kansas.
How Mitchell County has changed
Mitchell County's population had its largest drop, from 7,973 in 1984 to 7,300 in 1989.
Mitchell County's population fell 28% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 8,120 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mitchell County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Mitchell County had its largest rise, from 3,086 in 1995 to 3,556 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Mitchell County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 3,556 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mitchell County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.4% | 2024 9.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,412 | 2024 $68,954 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Mitchell County's history
1867
Established February 26, 1867. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,647. The 2020 Census counted 5,796, 40% of the peak. Census Bureau
1967
A tornado in June 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A thunderstorm in July 1989 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
Hail in May 2025 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mitchell County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mitchell County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Mitchell County score higher than it does. Of the group, Mitchell County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Lincoln County gets the largest, at 32.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa County, KS | 28 | 8.9% | 25.6% |
| Jewell County, KS | 28 | 12.3% | 28.6% |
| Lincoln County, KS | 25 | 11.6% | 32.5% |
| Cloud County, KS | 21 | 13.2% | 29.9% |
| Osborne County, KS | 20 | 11.3% | 30.0% |
| 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 Mitchell County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Mitchell County's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 85th 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, Mitchell County ranks 100th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mitchell 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 Mitchell 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 Mitchell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.