Unemployment in Stafford County, Kansas, is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties
In Stafford County, 3.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stafford County's score
In Stafford County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 60.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 17.1. About one in 28 renters (3.6%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stafford 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.
Even so, Stafford County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (9.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 60.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd 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 score39.8% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 48.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.2% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,487 · 202466th percentile
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- 33.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.7% · August 202529th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people102.3 · 202537th percentile
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- 26.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.8% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
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- 17.1 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 rent3.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Stafford 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 Stafford County, 22.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stafford County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Stafford County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Stafford County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stafford County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.1% in 2018 to 5.8% in 2019.
The share of households in Stafford County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 3.3%
High on the chart: 9.8% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stafford County, Kansas.
How Stafford County has changed
Stafford County's population fell by about a third to 3,901, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 5,615. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stafford County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Stafford County had its largest drop, from 1,308 in 2015 to 1,217 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Stafford County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 1,529 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stafford County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.3% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,914 | 2024 $61,487 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Stafford County's history
1875
Zion Valley founded 1875 by William Bickerton of Church of Jesus Christ as religious colony; renamed St. John. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 12,510. The 2020 Census counted 4,072, 33% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A tornado in May 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in May 2011 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stafford County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stafford County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Stafford County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stafford County ranks 3rd of the seven; Pawnee County is highest, at 28.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reno County, KS | 51 | 11.9% | 26.1% |
| Barton County, KS | 41 | 13.9% | 25.0% |
| Edwards County, KS | 36 | 11.8% | 21.4% |
| Pawnee County, KS | 32 | 13.6% | 28.0% |
| Rice County, KS | 28 | 11.0% | 23.2% |
| Stafford County, KS | 27 | 11.6% | 26.1% |
| Pratt County, KS | 19 | 13.2% | 22.6% |
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 Stafford County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Stafford County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 52nd 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, Stafford County ranks 47th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stafford 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 Stafford 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 Stafford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.