About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Osage County, Kansas, have a job
In Osage County, 15.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Osage County's score
In Osage County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 49.1. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 26.7. About one in eight renters (12.4%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 79% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Osage 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.
Osage 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.
- 49.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.9% · August 202537th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people151.7 · 202560th percentile
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- 42.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.8% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
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- 38.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.7% · 202428th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.1% · 202428th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,436 · 202432nd percentile
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- 33.0 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 working15.1% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 26.7 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 rent12.4% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd 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 Osage 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 Osage County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Osage County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Osage County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Osage County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Osage County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.1% in 2018 to 10.2% in 2019.
The share of households in Osage County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 8.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Osage County, Kansas.
How Osage County has changed
Osage County's population had its largest rise, from 13,935 in 1974 to 15,099 in 1979.
Osage County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15,737
High on the chart: 16,843 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Osage County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Osage County had its largest drop, from 4,419 in 2000 to 3,147 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Osage County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 4,419 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Osage County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.9% | 2024 10.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,691 | 2024 $73,436 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Osage County's history
1859
Originally organized in 1855 as Weller County, renamed in 1859 as Osage County. Wikipedia
1869
Lyndon founded in 1869 after land taken from Sac and Fox Nation by government for homesteading. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 23,659. The 2020 Census counted 15,766, 67% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in June 1974 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in June 1978 killed 16 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A thunderstorm in October 1984 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in October 1984 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Osage County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Osage County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Osage County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Osage County ranks 3rd of the seven; Coffey County is highest, at 27.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee County, KS | 55 | 12.0% | 23.4% |
| Lyon County, KS | 47 | 13.5% | 24.4% |
| Franklin County, KS | 40 | 8.9% | 26.1% |
| Coffey County, KS | 34 | 10.3% | 27.7% |
| Douglas County, KS | 29 | 14.3% | 16.9% |
| Osage County, KS | 28 | 10.7% | 26.1% |
| Wabaunsee County, KS | 9 | 8.4% | 21.0% |
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 Osage County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Osage County's poverty rate was 10.7% in 2024, 63rd 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, Osage County ranks 44th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Osage 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 Osage County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.