In Pawnee County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Pawnee County, 17.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pawnee County's score
In Pawnee County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 67.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 20.2. Unemployment averaged 3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pawnee 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.
Even so, Pawnee County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (23.9%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (261.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.6% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people261.2 · 202586th percentile
-
- 57.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.6% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability23.9% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance10.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,238 · 202442nd percentile
-
- 33.2 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 rent18.3% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.2% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
-
- 22.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.1% · second quarter of 202637th percentile
-
- 20.2 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 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
-
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 Pawnee 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 Pawnee County, 23.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pawnee County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pawnee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Pawnee County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pawnee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.3% in 2017 to 5.3% in 2018.
The share of households in Pawnee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 2.5%
Low on the chart: 1.9% 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, Pawnee County, Kansas.
How Pawnee County has changed
Pawnee County's population had its largest drop, from 6,774 in 2014 to 6,277 in 2019.
Pawnee County's population fell by about a third to 6,012, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 8,630 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pawnee County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Pawnee County had its largest drop, from 3,051 in 2015 to 2,632 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Pawnee County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 3,505 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pawnee County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.1% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.5% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,924 | 2024 $69,238 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Pawnee County's history
1859
Fort Larned established between 1859 and 1860 to provide protection for wagon trains on Santa Fe Trail. Wikipedia
1872
Established in 1867 and organized in 1872. Wikipedia
1878
Fort Larned closed in 1878; detachment from Fort Dodge remained stationed until 1883. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 11,041. The 2020 Census counted 6,253, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A thunderstorm in August 1996 did $3.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pawnee County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pawnee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pawnee County, two score higher. Of the group, Pawnee County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (28.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barton County, KS | 41 | 13.9% | 25.0% |
| Edwards County, KS | 36 | 11.8% | 21.4% |
| Pawnee County, KS | 32 | 13.6% | 28.0% |
| Rush County, KS | 31 | 12.0% | 25.4% |
| Stafford County, KS | 27 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 11 | 9.6% | 18.7% |
| 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 Pawnee County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Pawnee County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 17th 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, Pawnee County ranks 31st of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pawnee 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.
-
Kansas Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Pawnee 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 Pawnee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.