About one in nine people with a credit file in Smith County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Smith County, 10.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Smith County's score
In Smith County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 44.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 20.9. About one in seven adults aged 25 to 54 (14.2%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Smith 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.
Smith 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.
- 44.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202562nd 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 score35.7% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
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- 41.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.5% · 202426th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.1% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,292 · 202462nd percentile
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- 23.6 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 rent12.5% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th percentile
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- 23.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.9% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people111.4 · 202541st percentile
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- 20.9 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 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.2% · 2020 to 202412th 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 Smith 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 Smith County, 29.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Smith County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Smith County rose most in two steps: 20.2% in 1999 to 22.7% in 2004; 25.3% in 2014 to 27.8% in 2019.
In Smith County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Smith County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Smith County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 5.7% in 2010 to 7.2% in 2011; 7.1% in 2018 to 5.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Smith County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 4.4% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Smith County, Kansas.
How Smith County has changed
Smith County's population had its largest drop, from 6,841 in 1969 to 6,406 in 1974.
Smith County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 3,541, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 3,541. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Smith County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Smith County fell most sharply on the way to its 2015 low, from 1,409 in 2010 to 1,273 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Smith County fell 11% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 1,547 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Smith County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.6% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.6% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,878 | 2024 $62,292 |
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 Smith County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 16,384. The 2020 Census counted 3,570, 22% of the peak. Census Bureau
1957
A tornado in June 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1985
A tornado in May 1985 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in April 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in May 2013 did $1.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Smith County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Smith County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Smith County, in Kansas and Nebraska, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Smith County ranks 5th of the seven; Rooks County is highest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewell County, KS | 28 | 12.3% | 28.6% |
| Rooks County, KS | 24 | 11.3% | 30.1% |
| Webster County, NE | 21 | 10.8% | 26.0% |
| Osborne County, KS | 20 | 11.3% | 30.0% |
| Franklin County, NE | 17 | 12.1% | 28.7% |
| Smith County, KS | 17 | 10.5% | 28.6% |
| Phillips County, KS | 17 | 11.7% | 23.6% |
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 Smith County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Smith County's poverty rate was 10.5% in 2024, 71st 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, Smith County ranks 72nd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Smith 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 Smith County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.