About one in seven people with a credit file in Rooks County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Rooks County, 14.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rooks County's score
In Rooks County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 45.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 18.1. About one in 13 renters (7.5%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rooks 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.
Rooks 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.
- 45.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st 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 score34.1% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 42.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.7% · 202421st percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,484 · 202466th percentile
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- 36.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 33.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.7% · August 202517th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people125.6 · 202549th percentile
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- 18.1 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 income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th 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 Rooks 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 Rooks County, 23.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rooks County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rooks County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Rooks County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rooks County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.0% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2010.
The share of households in Rooks County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2010 to 2011, reaching 6.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rooks County, Kansas.
How Rooks County has changed
Rooks County's population fell 39% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 6,209. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rooks County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Rooks County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 1,973 in 2015 to 1,732 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Rooks County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 2,144 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rooks County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.7% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.3% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,161 | 2024 $61,484 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Rooks County's history
1867
Established February 26, 1867. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 11,282. The 2020 Census counted 4,919, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1985
A tornado in May 1985 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
Hail in June 2022 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rooks County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rooks County beside its neighbors
Rooks County scores higher than all six counties that border it. Of the group, Rooks County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (30.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooks County, KS | 24 | 11.3% | 30.1% |
| Graham County, KS | 20 | 13.7% | 27.8% |
| Osborne County, KS | 20 | 11.3% | 30.0% |
| Smith County, KS | 17 | 10.5% | 28.6% |
| Phillips County, KS | 17 | 11.7% | 23.6% |
| Ellis County, KS | 11 | 12.5% | 20.3% |
| Trego County, KS | 7 | 10.4% | 27.3% |
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 Rooks County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Rooks 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, Rooks County ranks 54th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rooks 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 Rooks County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.