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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Kansas

1 persistent-poverty county

Kansas has 1 persistent-poverty counties and 85 nonmetro counties — home to 71,710 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 11.5% and child poverty is 13.7%.

1

Persistent-poverty counties

85

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

72K

Residents in PPCs

105

Total counties

Kansas by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Kansas at a glance

Poverty rate

11.5%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

13.7%

Under 18

PPC share

0.9%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

81.0%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

3.91

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.27

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Kansas's 115 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 105 in Kansas.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Riley 0.46
  2. 2 Barber 0.37
  3. 3 Cheyenne 0.37
  4. 4 Chautauqua 0.37
  5. 5 Edwards 0.37

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Riley 22.0%
  2. 2 Crawford 20.8%
  3. 3 Geary 19.3%
  4. 4 Ellis 17.7%
  5. 5 Barber 17.6%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Riley 22.0%

Every county in Kansas

All 105 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Allen 7 — Pop. loss 13.1% 19.6% 12,491 0.28
Anderson 8 — Pop. loss 10.9% 10.7% 7,819 0.31
Atchison 6 — — 12.8% 11.7% 16,211 0.24
Barber 9 — Pop. loss 17.6% 30.2% 4,153 0.37
Barton 7 — Pop. loss 14.7% 19.7% 25,275 0.28
Bourbon 6 — Pop. loss 11.8% 14.2% 14,384 0.23
Brown 8 — Pop. loss 14.2% 15.5% 9,415 0.32
Butler 2 — — 9.0% 12.4% 67,916 0.07
Chase 8 — Pop. loss 10.5% 15.5% 2,579 0.30
Chautauqua 9 — Pop. loss 16.9% 20.0% 3,370 0.37
Cherokee 3 — Pop. loss 13.1% 11.8% 19,236 0.13
Cheyenne 9 — Pop. loss 17.4% 30.2% 2,628 0.37
Clark 9 — Pop. loss 9.4% 8.6% 1,987 0.34
Clay 8 — Pop. loss, Housing 12.9% 20.9% 8,071 0.31
Cloud 7 — Pop. loss 10.2% 8.5% 8,973 0.27
Coffey 8 — Pop. loss 9.6% 6.4% 8,304 0.30
Comanche 9 — Pop. loss 11.2% 20.1% 1,685 0.34
Cowley 4 — — 13.9% 17.3% 34,487 0.17
Crawford 4 — — 20.8% 23.6% 38,963 0.20
Decatur 9 — Pop. loss 13.0% 28.5% 2,746 0.35
Dickinson 6 — — 8.8% 11.4% 18,423 0.22
Doniphan 3 — Pop. loss 9.8% 8.7% 7,492 0.11
Douglas 3 — Housing 15.2% 9.0% 119,547 0.14
Edwards 9 — Pop. loss 16.4% 25.2% 2,817 0.37
Elk 8 — Pop. loss 16.7% 21.4% 2,464 0.33
Ellis 5 — Housing 17.7% 13.5% 28,870 0.22
Ellsworth 9 — Low emp., Pop. loss 8.5% 9.8% 6,366 0.33
Finney 5 — Housing 11.7% 15.5% 38,001 0.20
Ford 5 — — 14.4% 20.5% 34,133 0.21
Franklin 6 — — 9.6% 8.0% 25,994 0.23
Geary 3 — Low emp., Housing 19.3% 28.1% 35,895 0.15
Gove 9 — — 4.1% 1.6% 2,796 0.32
Graham 9 — Pop. loss 11.3% 14.4% 2,406 0.35
Grant 7 — Pop. loss 5.4% 6.3% 7,284 0.25
Gray 9 — — 6.9% 12.8% 5,696 0.33
Greeley 9 — — 10.0% 18.3% 1,296 0.34
Greenwood 8 — Pop. loss 14.9% 19.4% 5,956 0.32
Hamilton 9 — Low ed. 3.7% 2.1% 2,485 0.31
Harper 8 — Pop. loss 15.3% 21.6% 5,446 0.32
Harvey 2 — — 8.0% 8.8% 33,823 0.07
Haskell 9 — Pop. loss 10.8% 12.9% 3,695 0.34
Hodgeman 9 — Pop. loss 6.0% 6.6% 1,676 0.32
Jackson 3 — — 9.1% 14.1% 13,277 0.11
Jefferson 3 — — 6.3% 5.2% 18,391 0.10
Jewell 9 — Pop. loss 12.8% 22.2% 2,909 0.35
Johnson 1 — — 5.3% 5.1% 614,764 0.02
Kearny 9 — Low ed. 6.1% 5.7% 3,910 0.32
Kingman 8 — Pop. loss 9.4% 13.6% 7,284 0.30
Kiowa 9 — Pop. loss 5.7% 4.9% 2,422 0.32
Labette 7 — Pop. loss 16.1% 13.7% 19,949 0.29
Lane 9 — Pop. loss 8.1% 6.3% 1,497 0.33
Leavenworth 1 — — 8.6% 7.6% 82,493 0.03
Lincoln 9 — Pop. loss 11.9% 6.6% 2,924 0.35
Linn 1 — — 10.7% 8.6% 9,723 0.04
Logan 9 — — 13.2% 20.5% 2,720 0.35
Lyon 4 — Pop. loss 15.2% 18.9% 32,145 0.17
Marion 8 — Pop. loss 10.0% 8.7% 11,795 0.30
Marshall 8 — Pop. loss 9.4% 7.2% 10,001 0.30
McPherson 7 — — 9.1% 7.0% 30,130 0.26
Meade 9 — Pop. loss 6.6% 6.9% 3,949 0.33
Miami 1 — — 6.7% 5.7% 34,625 0.03
Mitchell 9 — Pop. loss 12.5% 17.2% 5,767 0.35
Montgomery 7 — Pop. loss 16.3% 21.5% 31,143 0.29
Morris 8 — Pop. loss 12.8% 18.4% 5,388 0.31
Morton 9 — Pop. loss 14.8% 18.6% 2,647 0.36
Nemaha 9 — — 7.7% 8.9% 10,213 0.33
Neosho 7 — Pop. loss 15.4% 18.5% 15,715 0.29
Ness 9 — Pop. loss 11.4% 21.1% 2,659 0.35
Norton 9 — Low emp., Pop. loss 8.5% 9.8% 5,392 0.33
Osage 3 — Pop. loss 11.0% 14.2% 15,780 0.12
Osborne 9 — Pop. loss 12.5% 18.6% 3,473 0.35
Ottawa 9 — Pop. loss 12.1% 14.8% 5,782 0.35
Pawnee 9 — Low emp., Pop. loss 11.2% 4.2% 6,220 0.34
Phillips 9 — Pop. loss 13.8% 26.3% 4,874 0.36
Pottawatomie 3 — — 7.1% 8.0% 25,808 0.10
Pratt 7 — — 9.5% 6.8% 9,120 0.26
Rawlins 9 — — 10.1% 10.7% 2,533 0.34
Reno 4 — Pop. loss 12.4% 15.1% 61,693 0.16
Republic 9 — Pop. loss 14.6% 31.0% 4,662 0.36
Rice 9 — Pop. loss 7.4% 8.4% 9,389 0.33
Riley 3 Yes Housing 22.0% 17.6% 71,710 0.46
Rooks 9 — Pop. loss 5.3% 3.0% 4,869 0.32
Rush 9 — Pop. loss 11.4% 8.9% 2,957 0.35
Russell 9 — Pop. loss 15.3% 18.2% 6,717 0.36
Saline 5 — — 12.3% 13.1% 53,801 0.20
Scott 9 — — 8.8% 11.0% 5,071 0.34
Sedgwick 2 — — 14.0% 18.8% 524,810 0.09
Seward 7 — Low ed. 13.0% 18.7% 21,640 0.28
Shawnee 3 — — 12.4% 14.4% 178,315 0.12
Sheridan 9 — Pop. loss 10.4% 7.9% 2,442 0.34
Sherman 9 — Pop. loss 10.0% 10.7% 5,919 0.34
Smith 9 — Pop. loss 7.8% 6.5% 3,579 0.33
Stafford 9 — Pop. loss 10.8% 12.5% 4,004 0.34
Stanton 9 — Low ed., Pop. loss 12.9% 33.7% 2,018 0.35
Stevens 9 — — 15.3% 14.7% 5,212 0.36
Sumner 2 — Pop. loss 10.8% 11.2% 22,386 0.08
Thomas 7 — — 6.9% 7.0% 7,913 0.25
Trego 9 — Pop. loss 5.5% 7.5% 2,778 0.32
Wabaunsee 3 — — 7.1% 5.1% 6,961 0.10
Wallace 9 — — 12.8% 23.4% 1,459 0.35
Washington 9 — Pop. loss 8.1% 8.2% 5,519 0.33
Wichita 9 — Pop. loss 16.3% 16.2% 2,115 0.37
Wilson 9 — Pop. loss 15.8% 15.1% 8,559 0.36
Woodson 9 — Pop. loss 12.3% 16.9% 3,118 0.35
Wyandotte 1 — Housing 17.5% 25.7% 167,277 0.07

Find a food pantry in Kansas

Search Kansas's 115 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Kansas pantry directory

Kansas SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Kansas SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Kansas food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology