About 19 in 20 adults aged 25 to 54 in Trego County, Kansas, have a job
In Trego County, 6.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Trego County's score
In Trego County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 36.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 8.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 36.6 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Trego 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.
Trego 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.
- 36.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.7% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
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- 27.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202511th 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 score35.3% · second quarter of 202631st percentile
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- 25.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.0% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability11.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,283 · 202454th percentile
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- 16.5 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 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working6.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 8.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.1% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people36.6 · 20255th or lower 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 Trego 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 Trego County, 27.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Trego County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Trego County rose most in two steps: 23.0% in 1999 to 27.1% in 2004; 22.1% in 2014 to 26.2% in 2019.
In Trego County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Trego County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Trego County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.2% in 2022 to 6.0% in 2023.
The share of households in Trego County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 5.3%
Low on the chart: 2.1% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Trego County, Kansas.
How Trego County has changed
Trego County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 3,741. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Trego County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Trego County had its largest drop in the last span, from 1,238 in 2020 to 1,027 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Trego County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 1,290 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Trego County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.1% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,615 | 2024 $65,283 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Trego County's history
1879
WaKeeney colony established 1879 by James Keeney and Albert Warren; billed as Queen City of High Plains. Wikipedia
1880
Crop failures drove settlers to leave WaKeeney in 1880. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 6,470. The 2020 Census counted 2,808, 43% of the peak. Census Bureau
1951
A tornado in June 1951 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in April 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in June 2005 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Trego County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Trego County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Trego County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Trego County ranks 4th of the six; Rooks County is highest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooks County, KS | 24 | 11.3% | 30.1% |
| Graham County, KS | 20 | 13.7% | 27.8% |
| Ellis County, KS | 11 | 12.5% | 20.3% |
| Trego County, KS | 7 | 10.4% | 27.3% |
| Gove County, KS | 6 | 10.3% | 15.9% |
| Ness County, KS | 4 | 11.3% | 27.4% |
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 Trego County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Trego County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 73rd 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, Trego County ranks 94th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Trego 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 Trego County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.