Adair County, Kentucky

County Distress Index: Elevated · 63.0 | 19,264 people · 28th most distressed in Kentucky
American Default Research

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Adair County, KY registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 63.0 — 622nd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Kentucky, it ranks 28th of 120 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Adair County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 88.2 — worse than roughly 88% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 88.3
Poverty Rate 91
Income vs. State Median 87
Child Poverty Rate 86
Community Vulnerability 66.5
Uninsured Rate 39
Disability Rate 94
Debt & Delinquency 59.1
Debt in Collections 51
Medical Debt 76
Student Loan Delinquency 16
Auto Loan Delinquency 55
Credit Card Delinquency 71
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 85
Housing Cost Burden 53.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 52
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 73
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 37
Homeownership Rate 40
Rent-to-Income Ratio 64
Employment & Wages 47.9
Unemployment Rate 49
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 50
Business Formation Rate 44

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Adair County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Adair County
Adair County, KY 63.0 Elevated —
Casey County, KY 68.1 Serious +5.1
Russell County, KY 60.8 Elevated -2.2
Cumberland County, KY 60.8 Elevated -2.3
Metcalfe County, KY 59.7 Elevated -3.3
Green County, KY 57.7 Elevated -5.4
Taylor County, KY 53.9 Elevated -9.1

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Adair County
Trinity County, CA 63.0 Elevated -0.0
Cedar County, MO 63.1 Elevated +0.1
Bladen County, NC 63.1 Elevated +0.1
Piscataquis County, ME 63.1 Elevated +0.1
Buchanan County, VA 63.1 Elevated +0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Adair County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Adair County

Find an Attorney

Kentucky Bar Association Lawyer Referral offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Kentucky Bar Association Lawyer Referral 502-564-3795

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Adair County residents at no cost.

Legal Aid of the Bluegrass 1-800-928-4615
Kentucky Legal Aid 1-866-452-9243
Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky (866) 277-5733
Legal Aid Society (502) 584-1254

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Adair County, Kentucky?

    Adair County has a County Distress Index score of 63.0 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 622nd nationally out of 3,144 counties and 28th in Kentucky out of 120 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Adair County?

    The primary driver of distress in Adair County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 88.2 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Adair County compare to neighboring counties?

    Adair County (63.0) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Casey County, KY (68.1); Russell County, KY (60.8); Cumberland County, KY (60.8).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Adair County?

    Adair County, Kentucky has a population of approximately 19,264 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a small county.