About one in 10 people in Saline County, Kansas, lives below the poverty line
In Saline County, 10.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Saline County's score
In Saline County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 52.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 27.4. Unemployment averaged 3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 73% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Saline 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.
Saline 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.
- 52.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.3% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people145 · 202558th percentile
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- 49.9 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 rent21.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.9% · fiscal year 202731st percentile
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- 38.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.8% · 202421st percentile
- People with a disability14.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,558 · 202441st percentile
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- 38.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.3% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
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- 27.5 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 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th 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 Saline 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 Saline County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Saline County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Saline County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Saline County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Saline County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 7.6% in 2009 to 8.7% in 2010; 9.0% in 2019 to 10.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Saline County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 7.6% 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, Saline County, Kansas.
How Saline County has changed
Saline County's population had its largest rise, from 49,316 in 1989 to 52,240 in 1994.
Saline County's population rose 16% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 55,682 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Saline County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Saline County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 30,369, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 31,826 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Saline County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.3% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,260 | 2024 $69,558 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Saline County's history
1858
Settlers from Lawrence founded Salina Town Company 1858. Wikipedia
1860
Established February 15, 1860. Wikipedia
1889
First Lee Jeans garment factory opened Salina 1889. Wikipedia
1969
A tornado in June 1969 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in September 1973 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A thunderstorm in July 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flood in May 2007 did $6.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 55,606. The 2020 Census counted 54,303, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Saline County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Saline County beside its neighbors
Saline County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Saline County ranks 5th of the six; Lincoln County is highest, at 32.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saline County, KS | 35 | 10.2% | 21.3% |
| Dickinson County, KS | 29 | 8.5% | 29.5% |
| Ottawa County, KS | 28 | 8.9% | 25.6% |
| Lincoln County, KS | 25 | 11.6% | 32.5% |
| 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 Saline County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Saline County's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 76th 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, Saline County ranks 28th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Saline 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.
Download the CSV for Saline 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 Saline County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.