About one in five people with a credit file in Wilson County, Kansas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wilson County, 19.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 63% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wilson County's score
In Wilson County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 59.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 23.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 47.7 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wilson 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, Wilson County is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (5.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 59.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 56.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.8% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.5% · 202441st percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,848 · 202473rd percentile
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- 47.3 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 rent19.3% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th percentile
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- 34.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.8% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
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- 23.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.8% · August 202537th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people47.7 · 20258th 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 Wilson 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 Wilson County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wilson County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wilson County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Wilson County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wilson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.2% in 2009 to 12.8% in 2010.
The share of households in Wilson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 10.0%
Low on the chart: 8.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wilson County, Kansas.
How Wilson County has changed
Wilson County's population had its largest drop, from 11,379 in 1984 to 10,491 in 1989.
Wilson County's population fell by about a quarter to 8,398, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 11,954 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wilson County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Wilson County had its largest drop, from 4,347 in 2005 to 3,519 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Wilson County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 4,347 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wilson County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 12.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,497 | 2024 $58,848 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Wilson County's history
1907
Cement plant opened Fredonia 1907, closed 2012 after 100+ years. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 21,157. The 2020 Census counted 8,624, 41% of the peak. Census Bureau
1928
Archer Daniels Midland soybean processing facility obtained 1928, closed March 2003. Wikipedia
2007
A flash flood in July 2007 did $21.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wilson County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wilson County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Wilson County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wilson County ranks 2nd of the six; Elk County is highest, at 38.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, KS | 72 | 14.6% | 32.9% |
| Woodson County, KS | 58 | 12.9% | 30.8% |
| Elk County, KS | 58 | 14.8% | 38.0% |
| Greenwood County, KS | 54 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Neosho County, KS | 53 | 13.3% | 28.9% |
| Wilson County, KS | 40 | 12.8% | 33.7% |
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 Wilson County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Wilson County's poverty rate was 12.8% in 2024, 29th 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, Wilson County ranks 24th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wilson 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 Wilson 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 Wilson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.