Kentucky County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 120 counties in Kentucky, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 64.7. 98counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Kentucky Snapshot
120 Counties Scored
64.7 Mean Score
64.5 Median Score
87.8 Bell County Most Distressed
19.8 Oldham County Least Distressed
50 Most distressed fifth48 Second-most distressed fifth14 Middle fifth6 Second-least distressed fifth2 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution Kentucky County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 120 Kentucky counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Kentucky's 120 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Kentucky Counties
120 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Bell County | 87.8 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 2 | 35 | Knox County | 85.9 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 3 | 36 | Magoffin County | 85.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 44 | Clay County | 85.3 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 5 | 45 | Martin County | 85.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 6 | 52 | McCreary County | 84.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 7 | 57 | Harlan County | 84.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 8 | 66 | Floyd County | 83.9 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 9 | 71 | Pike County | 83.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 10 | 75 | Fulton County | 83.3 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 11 | 78 | Wayne County | 83.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 12 | 94 | Christian County | 82.1 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 13 | 111 | Johnson County | 81.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 14 | 132 | Jackson County | 80.4 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 15 | 164 | Estill County | 79.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 16 | 189 | Wolfe County | 78.1 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 17 | 191 | Knott County | 78.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 203 | Powell County | 77.3 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 19 | 209 | Clinton County | 77.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 20 | 215 | Breathitt County | 76.7 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 21 | 217 | Lawrence County | 76.7 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 22 | 225 | Laurel County | 76.5 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 23 | 236 | Owsley County | 76.1 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 24 | 238 | Morgan County | 76.0 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 25 | 244 | Lee County | 75.8 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 26 | 260 | Carter County | 75.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 27 | 273 | Leslie County | 74.9 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 28 | 279 | Rockcastle County | 74.7 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 29 | 293 | Menifee County | 74.4 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 30 | 297 | Perry County | 74.3 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 31 | 318 | Boyd County | 73.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 32 | 340 | Casey County | 73.0 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 33 | 342 | Whitley County | 72.9 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 34 | 382 | Letcher County | 71.9 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 35 | 429 | Barren County | 70.8 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 36 | 444 | Rowan County | 70.5 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 37 | 450 | Pulaski County | 70.4 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 38 | 492 | Lewis County | 69.6 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 39 | 497 | Elliott County | 69.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 40 | 500 | Muhlenberg County | 69.3 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 41 | 517 | Nicholas County | 69.0 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 42 | 523 | Bourbon County | 68.8 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 43 | 539 | Livingston County | 68.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 44 | 540 | Greenup County | 68.5 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 45 | 554 | Adair County | 68.3 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 46 | 570 | Simpson County | 68.1 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 47 | 578 | Mason County | 68.0 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 48 | 579 | Hopkins County | 68.0 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 49 | 621 | Jefferson County | 67.3 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 50 | 624 | Fleming County | 67.2 | Most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 51 | 652 | Trigg County | 66.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 52 | 655 | Robertson County | 66.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 53 | 665 | Bracken County | 66.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 54 | 675 | Butler County | 66.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 55 | 685 | Grayson County | 65.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 56 | 693 | Lincoln County | 65.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 57 | 729 | Ohio County | 65.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 58 | 737 | Taylor County | 64.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 59 | 753 | Hart County | 64.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 60 | 754 | Hardin County | 64.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 61 | 765 | Russell County | 64.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | 781 | Edmonson County | 64.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 63 | 801 | Gallatin County | 63.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 64 | 803 | Larue County | 63.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 65 | 809 | Montgomery County | 63.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 66 | 817 | Bath County | 63.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 67 | 837 | Allen County | 63.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 68 | 861 | Henderson County | 62.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 69 | 869 | Boyle County | 62.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 70 | 871 | Green County | 62.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 71 | 892 | Henry County | 62.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 72 | 903 | Metcalfe County | 62.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 73 | 915 | Warren County | 61.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 74 | 920 | Monroe County | 61.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 75 | 945 | Harrison County | 61.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 76 | 957 | Grant County | 61.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 77 | 969 | Breckinridge County | 60.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 78 | 982 | Cumberland County | 60.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 79 | 992 | Crittenden County | 60.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 80 | 1,004 | Pendleton County | 60.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 81 | 1,013 | Calloway County | 60.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 82 | 1,018 | McCracken County | 60.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 83 | 1,027 | Owen County | 59.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 84 | 1,029 | Logan County | 59.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 85 | 1,033 | Marion County | 59.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 86 | 1,054 | Madison County | 59.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 87 | 1,066 | McLean County | 59.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 88 | 1,080 | Carroll County | 59.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 89 | 1,091 | Union County | 58.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 90 | 1,114 | Garrard County | 58.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 91 | 1,116 | Caldwell County | 58.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 92 | 1,125 | Graves County | 58.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 93 | 1,181 | Lyon County | 57.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 94 | 1,194 | Clark County | 57.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 95 | 1,228 | Franklin County | 56.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 96 | 1,247 | Meade County | 56.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 97 | 1,253 | Washington County | 56.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 98 | 1,254 | Mercer County | 56.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 99 | 1,298 | Hickman County | 55.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 100 | 1,314 | Marshall County | 55.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 101 | 1,398 | Carlisle County | 53.6 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 102 | 1,407 | Nelson County | 53.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 103 | 1,408 | Fayette County | 53.5 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 104 | 1,449 | Daviess County | 52.8 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 105 | 1,450 | Webster County | 52.8 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 106 | 1,453 | Todd County | 52.6 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 107 | 1,468 | Anderson County | 52.2 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 108 | 1,492 | Bullitt County | 51.8 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 109 | 1,552 | Trimble County | 50.9 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 110 | 1,555 | Ballard County | 50.9 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 111 | 1,777 | Kenton County | 46.9 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 112 | 1,885 | Jessamine County | 45.1 | Middle fifth | Default & Legal |
| 113 | 1,901 | Hancock County | 44.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 114 | 2,048 | Campbell County | 42.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 115 | 2,131 | Boone County | 40.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 116 | 2,174 | Scott County | 39.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 117 | 2,212 | Shelby County | 39.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 118 | 2,223 | Spencer County | 39.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 119 | 2,637 | Woodford County | 30.2 | Least distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 120 | 2,988 | Oldham County | 19.8 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 50 Kentucky counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 48 Kentucky counties
Middle fifth — 14 Kentucky counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 6 Kentucky counties
Least distressed fifth — 2 Kentucky counties