Harlan County, Kentucky
Above the national median for adults 25-54 not working — and 20.1× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Thomas County, NE — 2%).
Main Findings
Harlan County, Kentucky ranks 75th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 40% of adults aged 25 to 54 are not working — above the national median of 21%. Its highest-scoring domain is Labor and its lowest is Debt Burden (housing basis).
- 75th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 97 · extreme county distress, more distressed than 97% of U.S. counties; 6th in Kentucky.
- 40% of adults aged 25 to 54 are not working (U.S. median 21%). Adults 25-54 not working at the 98th percentile nationally. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
- Bankruptcy filing rate at 363 — national median 126, ranked at the 95th percentile. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
- Child poverty rate at 38% — national median 17%, ranked at the 98th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024).
- Credit card delinquency at 9% — national median 5%, ranked at the 89th percentile. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
Harlan County has an extreme county distress score. The five-domain profile shows where local household pressure is most concentrated.
The CDI gives this county an extreme county distress label. The score is the plain-language signal; the national rank separately shows how the county compares with every other county-equivalent in the release. Its highest-scoring domain is Labor.
Reporter's Notes
Two data points in the indicator table worth a follow-up call.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024), Harlan County's uninsured rate indicator is at the 18th percentile. American Default Research's CDI places every other indicator in the Safety Net & Buffer domain at or above the 98th percentile. The gap stands out against child poverty rate and disability rate. Worth a call to the source agency or a local subject-matter contact in Harlan.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024), 38% of children under 18 in Harlan County live below the federal poverty line, versus 17% nationally. When a county's adult poverty rate is accompanied by a materially higher child poverty rate, the gap typically reflects single-parent household concentration or limited access to workforce-participation supports (childcare, transportation). Worth a call to the local school district's free-and-reduced-lunch coordinator or a regional United Way affiliate.
Indicator History
Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.
Unemployment rate
Poverty rate
Transfer income share
Subprime credit population
The Indicators Behind Harlan County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Harlan County's value shown alongside KY's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Harlan | KY median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 76 · Rank 654 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 6% | 6% | 5% | 60th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 9% | 6% | 5% | 89th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 31% | 28% | 23% | 79th | Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 91 · Rank 125 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 36% | 29% | 23% | 88th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 363 | 243 | 126 | 95th | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 72 · Rank 640 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 26% | 21% | 21% | 88th | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents (FY2027); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 19% | 18% | 18% | 56th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Labor — domain score 96 · Rank 8 of 3,144 | |||||
| Adults 25-54 not working Share of adults aged 25 to 54 without a job, leaving out residents of prisons and other institutions (service members count as working) | 40% | 27% | 21% | 98th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Unemployment (average of monthly rates) Share of labor force unemployed, averaged over the monthly rates published for September 2025 to August 2026 (no figures published for October 2025) | 6% | 5% | 4% | 94th | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (monthly rates averaged, September 2025 to August 2026; no figures published for October 2025) |
| Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 82 · Rank 304 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 38% | 22% | 17% | 98th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 27% | 21% | 16% | 98th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 29% | 17% | 13% | 98th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 5% | 6% | 8% | 18th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
Five-Domain Breakdown
The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.
Methodology
The County Distress Index scores household financial distress from 0 to 100 for all 3,144 U.S. counties. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the five domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every other county to give the score.
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), Equifax data retrieved via FRED (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2024 to 2027 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Harlan County data.
Draft wire copy 138-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
HARLAN, Ky. — Harlan County ranks 75th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
Harlan scores 97 out of 100, which means it is more distressed than 97% of U.S. counties; its score label is extreme county distress. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 74 counties rank more distressed. Within Kentucky, Harlan ranks sixth of 120 counties.
The index, which draws on 14 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies labor as the primary driver in Harlan. 40% of adults aged 25 to 54 are not working — above the national median of 21%.
American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Harlan County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Harlan County's distress score?
How does Harlan County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
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