Scott County, Kansas

County Distress Index: Healthy · 26.9 | 4,922 people · 100th most distressed in Kansas
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Scott County, KS ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 26.9 — 2985th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where debt and delinquency rates remain below the national norm. Within Kansas, it ranks 100th of 105 counties. It scores lower than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Scott County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 42.6 — above the national median.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 42.6
Debt in Collections 23
Medical Debt 51
Student Loan Delinquency 41
Auto Loan Delinquency 43
Credit Card Delinquency 33
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 64
Housing Cost Burden 37.7
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 5
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 5
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 79
Homeownership Rate 95
Rent-to-Income Ratio 5
Community Vulnerability 34.2
Uninsured Rate 37
Disability Rate 31
Income & Poverty 11.1
Poverty Rate 7
Income vs. State Median 19
Child Poverty Rate 7
Employment & Wages 9.0
Unemployment Rate 6
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 9
Business Formation Rate 12

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Scott County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Scott County
Scott County, KS 26.9 Healthy —
Finney County, KS 46.2 Normal +19.3
Kearny County, KS 42.7 Normal +15.8
Logan County, KS 41.4 Normal +14.5
Lane County, KS 40.2 Normal +13.3
Wichita County, KS 36.1 Normal +9.1
Gove County, KS 27.4 Healthy +0.5

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Scott County
McCook County, SD 26.9 Healthy -0.0
Butler County, NE 27.0 Healthy +0.1
Fremont County, IA 27.1 Healthy +0.2
Harding County, SD 26.7 Healthy -0.2
Meade County, KS 27.1 Healthy +0.2

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Scott County as a CSV file.

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Kansas Bar Association Lawyer Referral 785-234-5696

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Kansas Legal Services 1-800-723-6953

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Scott County, Kansas?

    Scott County has a County Distress Index score of 26.9 out of 100, placing it in the Healthy zone. It ranks 2,985th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 100th in Kansas out of 105 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Scott County?

    The primary driver of distress in Scott County is Debt & Delinquency, where the county scores 42.6 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Debt in Collections, Medical Debt, Student Loan Delinquency.

  • How does Scott County compare to neighboring counties?

    Scott County (26.9) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Finney County, KS (46.2); Kearny County, KS (42.7); Logan County, KS (41.4).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Scott County?

    Scott County, Kansas has a population of approximately 4,922 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.