In Sedgwick County, Kansas, benefit checks make up only 18 cents of every dollar of income
In Sedgwick County, 18.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sedgwick County's score
In Sedgwick County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 60.9. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 38.5. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 17.6% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sedgwick 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.
Sedgwick 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.
- 60.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.2% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people172.6 · 202567th percentile
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- 49.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
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- 49.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.0% · second quarter of 202649th percentile
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- 46.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.5% · 202441st percentile
- People with a disability14.5% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,044 · 202438th percentile
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- 38.5 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 rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.6% · fiscal year 202718th 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 Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County, 15.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sedgwick County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sedgwick County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 18.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Sedgwick County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sedgwick County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.2% in 2010 to 11.2% in 2011.
The share of households in Sedgwick County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 11.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sedgwick County, Kansas.
How Sedgwick County has changed
Sedgwick County's population had its largest rise, from 464,021 in 2004 to 495,006 in 2009.
Sedgwick County's population rose by about half to 536,081, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 536,081 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sedgwick County, Kansas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sedgwick County rose by about a quarter to 265,869, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 249,814. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sedgwick County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.2% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,495 | 2024 $71,044 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Sedgwick County's history
1867
Established February 26, 1867. Wikipedia
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $250 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in May 1999 did $140 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Hail in September 2010 did $150 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in April 2012 did $500 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 523,824, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sedgwick County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sedgwick County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Sedgwick County, one scores higher. Of the group, Sedgwick County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Kingman County gets the largest, at 26.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reno County, KS | 51 | 11.9% | 26.1% |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 48 | 12.5% | 18.3% |
| Sumner County, KS | 34 | 10.7% | 26.5% |
| Butler County, KS | 19 | 8.3% | 19.3% |
| Harvey County, KS | 19 | 8.5% | 25.2% |
| Kingman County, KS | 12 | 10.6% | 26.9% |
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 Sedgwick County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Sedgwick County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 32nd 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, Sedgwick County ranks 19th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sedgwick 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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Cambridge Credit Counseling Corporation - Wichita Branch
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.