In Pratt County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Pratt County, 17.3% 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 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pratt County's score
In Pratt County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 47.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 13.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 55.1 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pratt 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.
Pratt 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.
- 47.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.7% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.9% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,650 · 202450th percentile
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- 34.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.4% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 32.1 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 rent17.9% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 31.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.7% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.4% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 13.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.4% · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.1 · 202511th 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 Pratt 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 Pratt County, 21.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pratt County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pratt County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Pratt County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pratt County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.3% in 2022 to 5.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Pratt County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 3.3% 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, Pratt County, Kansas.
How Pratt County has changed
Pratt County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 10,745 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pratt County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Pratt County fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 4,694 in 2015 to 4,407 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Pratt County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,637
High on the chart: 4,694 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pratt County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.9% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,115 | 2024 $66,650 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Pratt County's history
1888
1888 blizzard killed over 80% of county cattle. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 13,312. The 2020 Census counted 9,157, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
1942
Pratt Army Airfield trained B-29 crews during World War II. Wikipedia
2002
A tornado in May 2002 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in May 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in October 2018 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pratt County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pratt County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pratt County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pratt County ranks 6th of the seven; Barber County is highest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reno County, KS | 51 | 11.9% | 26.1% |
| Edwards County, KS | 36 | 11.8% | 21.4% |
| Stafford County, KS | 27 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Pratt County, KS | 19 | 13.2% | 22.6% |
| Kiowa County, KS | 12 | 12.0% | 30.2% |
| Kingman County, KS | 12 | 10.6% | 26.9% |
| Barber County, KS | 7 | 10.0% | 30.3% |
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 Pratt County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Pratt County's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 21st 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, Pratt County ranks 68th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pratt 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 Pratt County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.