In Rice County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Rice County, 18.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rice County's score
In Rice County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 64.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 17.4. About one in 10 renters (10.4%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rice 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, Rice County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (9.2%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.2% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 43.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.0% · 202433rd percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,028 · 202457th percentile
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- 33.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.3% · August 202531st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people97.2 · 202534th percentile
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- 29.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.7% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
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- 17.4 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 rent10.4% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st 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 Rice 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 Rice County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rice County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rice County had its largest drop, from 25.8% in 2009 to 18.2% in 2014.
In Rice County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Rice County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rice County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.8% in 2018 to 6.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Rice County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 4.6% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rice County, Kansas.
How Rice County has changed
Rice County's population fell by about a quarter to 9,284, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1979 to 1984, reaching 11,456. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rice County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Rice County made its largest gain on the way to its 2015 high, from 3,628 in 2010 to 3,953 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Rice County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,829
High on the chart: 3,953 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rice County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,497 | 2024 $64,028 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Rice County's history
1867
Established February 26, 1867. Wikipedia
1890
Western Salt Company opened first salt shaft in Lyons 1890. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 17,213. The 2020 Census counted 9,427, 55% of the peak. Census Bureau
1973
A tornado in September 1973 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flood in May 2007 did $2.57 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flood in May 2007 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rice County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rice County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Rice County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rice County ranks 5th of the six; Ellsworth County is highest, at 27.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reno County, KS | 51 | 11.9% | 26.1% |
| Barton County, KS | 41 | 13.9% | 25.0% |
| Rice County, KS | 28 | 11.0% | 23.2% |
| Stafford County, KS | 27 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Ellsworth County, KS | 21 | 13.1% | 27.3% |
| McPherson County, KS | 6 | 8.3% | 20.9% |
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 Rice County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Rice County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 60th 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, Rice County ranks 45th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rice 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 Rice County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.