Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Adair County, Kentucky
In Adair County, 39.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Adair County's score
In Adair County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 81.8. Jobs come next, at 71.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Adair County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Adair County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (7.5%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.2% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.6% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability22.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,581 · 202490th percentile
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- 71.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 68.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.4% · August 202550th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people249.2 · 202585th percentile
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- 64.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.3% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 54.1 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Adair County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Adair County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Adair County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Adair County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 39.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Adair County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Adair County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.0% in 2009 to 19.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Adair County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 16.9%
Low on the chart: 14.7% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Adair County, Kentucky.
How Adair County has changed
Adair County's population rose by about half to 19,239, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 14,583. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Adair County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Adair County rose by about half to 5,091, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 5,091. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Adair County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.2% | 2024 21.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,308 | 2024 $50,581 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Adair County's history
1801
Formed on December 11, 1801, from sections of Green County. Wikipedia
1861
Camp Boyle—Union Army camp and muster site. Wikipedia
1872
Bank of Columbia robbed; cashier killed. Wikipedia
1971
A tornado in April 1971 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A tornado in March 1997 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in April 1998 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in December 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,903, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1971
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Adair County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Adair County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Adair County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Adair County ranks 5th of the seven; Cumberland County is highest, at 47.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casey County, KY | 89 | 18.8% | 42.3% |
| Russell County, KY | 81 | 18.8% | 31.1% |
| Taylor County, KY | 80 | 16.4% | 38.4% |
| Adair County, KY | 80 | 21.2% | 39.2% |
| Cumberland County, KY | 76 | 19.8% | 47.7% |
| Green County, KY | 75 | 17.9% | 42.8% |
| Metcalfe County, KY | 71 | 20.9% | 45.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Adair County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Adair County's poverty rate was 21.2% in 2024, 31st highest of 120 in Kentucky (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is McCreary County, at 36.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Adair County ranks 49th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Adair County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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AppalReD Legal Aid
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Adair County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.