diff --git a/changelog_entry.yaml b/changelog_entry.yaml
index e69de29b..58baa004 100644
--- a/changelog_entry.yaml
+++ b/changelog_entry.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+- bump: patch
+  changes:
+    fixed:
+      - Fixed pandas 3.0 compatibility in Enum.encode() by using positional access (.iloc[0]) for pandas Series instead of label-based access (array[0]), which fails with KeyError when Series has a non-integer index (fixes #427)
diff --git a/policyengine_core/enums/enum.py b/policyengine_core/enums/enum.py
index 5b6e4b9e..c13a99b6 100644
--- a/policyengine_core/enums/enum.py
+++ b/policyengine_core/enums/enum.py
@@ -66,7 +66,14 @@ def encode(cls, array: Union[EnumArray, np.ndarray]) -> EnumArray:
             return array
 
         # Handle Enum item arrays by extracting indices directly
-        if len(array) > 0 and isinstance(array[0], Enum):
+        # Use .iloc[0] for pandas Series to avoid KeyError with non-integer index
+        # (pandas 3.0 uses StringDtype by default, causing array[0] to do
+        # label-based lookup instead of positional access)
+        if len(array) > 0:
+            first_elem = array.iloc[0] if hasattr(array, "iloc") else array[0]
+        else:
+            first_elem = None
+        if first_elem is not None and isinstance(first_elem, Enum):
             indices = np.array(
                 [item.index for item in array], dtype=ENUM_ARRAY_DTYPE
             )
diff --git a/tests/core/enums/test_enum.py b/tests/core/enums/test_enum.py
index 3605ef6d..0fe586f0 100644
--- a/tests/core/enums/test_enum.py
+++ b/tests/core/enums/test_enum.py
@@ -94,3 +94,59 @@ class Sample(Enum):
 
     # Empty string should be in the error message (represented as '')
     assert "''" in str(exc_info.value) or '""' in str(exc_info.value)
+
+
+def test_enum_encode_pandas_series_with_enum_items():
+    """
+    Test that encoding a pandas Series containing Enum items works.
+
+    In pandas 3.0, Series may have StringDtype index. The encode() method
+    uses array[0] to check if items are Enum instances, but this fails
+    with KeyError when the Series has a non-integer index.
+
+    This test verifies the fix for GitHub issue #427.
+    """
+    import pandas as pd
+
+    class Sample(Enum):
+        MAXWELL = "maxwell"
+        DWORKIN = "dworkin"
+
+    # Create a pandas Series with Enum items (simulates what happens in
+    # policyengine-us county variable with pandas 3.0)
+    enum_items = [Sample.MAXWELL, Sample.DWORKIN, Sample.MAXWELL]
+    series = pd.Series(enum_items)
+
+    # This should work but fails with KeyError: 0 before the fix
+    encoded_array = Sample.encode(series)
+
+    assert len(encoded_array) == 3
+    assert isinstance(encoded_array, EnumArray)
+    assert encoded_array.dtype.kind == "i"
+    # Verify correct encoding
+    assert list(encoded_array) == [0, 1, 0]  # MAXWELL=0, DWORKIN=1
+
+
+def test_enum_encode_pandas_series_with_string_index():
+    """
+    Test that encoding a pandas Series with a string index works.
+
+    This specifically tests the pandas 3.0 case where StringDtype is used
+    and array[0] does label-based lookup instead of positional access.
+    """
+    import pandas as pd
+
+    class Sample(Enum):
+        MAXWELL = "maxwell"
+        DWORKIN = "dworkin"
+
+    # Create a Series with a string index (like pandas 3.0 StringDtype)
+    enum_items = [Sample.MAXWELL, Sample.DWORKIN, Sample.MAXWELL]
+    series = pd.Series(enum_items, index=["a", "b", "c"])
+
+    # This fails with KeyError: 0 when using array[0] instead of .iloc[0]
+    encoded_array = Sample.encode(series)
+
+    assert len(encoded_array) == 3
+    assert isinstance(encoded_array, EnumArray)
+    assert list(encoded_array) == [0, 1, 0]