About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Ness County, Kansas, have a job
In Ness County, 12.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ness County's score
In Ness County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 38.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 7.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ness 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.
Ness 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.
- 38.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance8.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,131 · 202442nd percentile
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- 28.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202518th 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 score34.8% · second quarter of 202628th percentile
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- 12.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.9% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people38.2 · 20255th percentile
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- 9.1 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 rent7.5% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.7% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
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- 7.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.1% · 2020 to 20246th 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 Ness 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 Ness County, 25.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ness County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ness County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Ness County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ness County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2011 high, from 4.6% in 2010 to 6.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Ness County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 3.3%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 1.3% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ness County, Kansas.
How Ness County has changed
Ness County's population fell by about half to 2,617, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 4,134. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ness County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ness County fell by about a fifth to 1,076, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2020, reaching 1,086. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ness County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.6% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,630 | 2024 $69,131 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Ness County's history
1867
Established February 26, 1867. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 8,358. The 2020 Census counted 2,687, 32% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in April 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Hail in May 1996 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in June 1996 did $1.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ness County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ness County beside its neighbors
All eight counties that border Ness County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ness County ranks 2nd of the nine; Pawnee County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnee County, KS | 32 | 13.6% | 28.0% |
| Rush County, KS | 31 | 12.0% | 25.4% |
| Finney County, KS | 29 | 11.7% | 16.9% |
| Lane County, KS | 17 | 10.1% | 19.6% |
| Ellis County, KS | 11 | 12.5% | 20.3% |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 11 | 9.6% | 18.7% |
| Trego County, KS | 7 | 10.4% | 27.3% |
| 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 Ness County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Ness County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 55th 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, Ness County ranks 101st of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ness 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 Ness County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.