About one in eight people with a credit file in Kane County, Utah, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Kane County, 12.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kane County's score
In Kane County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 53.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 0.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kane 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, Kane County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (25.5%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 53.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.1% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 53.1 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 rent12.6% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.5% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 29.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.9% · 202422nd percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,412 · 202432nd percentile
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- 11.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.4% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people59.3 · 202514th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.3% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Kane 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 Kane County, 24.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kane County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kane County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Kane County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kane County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 4.7% in 2019 to 2.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Kane County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 2.4%
Low on the chart: 1.4% 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, Kane County, Utah.
How Kane County has changed
Kane County's population had its largest rise, from 2,400 in 1969 to 3,318 in 1974.
Kane County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8,525, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 7,074. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kane County, Utah.
The number of jobs located in Kane County had its largest rise, from 2,140 in 1995 to 2,801 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Kane County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,205, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 2,830. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kane County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,358 | 2024 $73,412 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Kane County's history
1864
Created January 16, 1864 from Washington County. Wikipedia
1998
A flash flood in September 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 7,667, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flood in March 2023 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in March 2023 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flash flood in May 2023 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kane County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kane County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Kane County, in Utah and Arizona, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kane County ranks 4th of the seven; Mohave County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mohave County, AZ | 83 | 14.6% | 36.3% |
| Coconino County, AZ | 66 | 15.2% | 20.8% |
| San Juan County, UT | 62 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Washington County, UT | 38 | 9.3% | 21.5% |
| Iron County, UT | 28 | 12.6% | 23.4% |
| Garfield County, UT | 25 | 9.8% | 25.0% |
| Kane County, UT | 17 | 8.8% | 24.7% |
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 Kane County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Kane County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 19th highest of 29 in Utah (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is San Juan County, at 19.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Kane County ranks 17th of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kane 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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Utah 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 Kane County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.