In Wallace County, Kansas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Wallace County, 16.8% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wallace County's score
In Wallace County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 51.2. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 8.6. About one in 30 renters (3.3%, 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 Wallace 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, Wallace County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (19.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 47.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.6% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability19.7% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance4.4% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,507 · 202444th percentile
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- 41.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202530th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people132.5 · 202552nd percentile
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- 27.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202537th 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 score26.5% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
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- 8.6 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 rent3.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.8% · fiscal year 202712th 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 Wallace 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 Wallace County, 26.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wallace County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wallace County had its largest rise, from 13.8% in 1999 to 19.4% in 2004.
In Wallace County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Wallace County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wallace County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.1% in 2019 to 9.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Wallace County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 2.1% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wallace County, Kansas.
How Wallace County has changed
Wallace County's population had its largest drop, from 1,787 in 1999 to 1,562 in 2004.
Wallace County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,472
High on the chart: 2,217 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wallace County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Wallace County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 540 in 2000 to 493 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Wallace County rose 8% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 540 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wallace County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.1% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,515 | 2024 $68,507 |
The table uses 3.3% 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 Wallace County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 2,882. The 2020 Census counted 1,512, 52% of the peak. Census Bureau
1993
Hail in August 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
Large sinkhole opened north of Sharon Springs in 2013, approximately 88 feet deep and 243 feet across. Wikipedia
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Since 2004
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wallace County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wallace County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wallace County, in Kansas and Colorado, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wallace County ranks 5th of the seven; Sherman County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne County, CO | 27 | 13.2% | 21.0% |
| Sherman County, KS | 27 | 12.4% | 27.0% |
| Wallace County, KS | 24 | 12.2% | 19.2% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 21 | 12.9% | 26.8% |
| Wichita County, KS | 16 | 10.9% | 18.3% |
| Logan County, KS | 12 | 10.1% | 22.0% |
| Greeley County, KS | 11 | 9.9% | 11.1% |
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 Wallace County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Wallace County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 39th 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, Wallace County ranks 53rd of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wallace 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 Wallace 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 Wallace County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.