Benefit checks make up 34 cents of every dollar of income in Allen County, Kentucky
In Allen County, 33.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Allen County's score
In Allen County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 335 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Allen 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.
Allen County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.7%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people335 · 202593rd percentile
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- 69.8 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 behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.0% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
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- 64.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.3% · 202459th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.5% · 202462nd percentile
- People with a disability18.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,655 · 202456th percentile
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- 24.2 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.9% · fiscal year 202730th 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 Allen 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 Allen County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Allen County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Allen County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Allen County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Allen County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.8% in 2017 to 12.1% in 2018.
The share of households in Allen County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.1%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 8.6% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Allen County, Kentucky.
How Allen County has changed
Allen County's population had its largest rise, from 15,754 in 1994 to 17,658 in 1999.
Allen County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22,037, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 14,377. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Allen County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Allen County rose by about half to 5,159, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 5,156. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Allen County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.5% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.3% | 2024 14.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,167 | 2024 $64,655 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Allen County's history
1815
Established 1815 from Barren and Warren counties. Wikipedia
2008
A tornado in February 2008 did $1.25 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in May 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A thunderstorm in June 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 20,588, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flash flood in May 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Allen County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Allen County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Allen County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Allen County ranks 2nd of the seven; Monroe County is highest, at 39.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barren County, KY | 83 | 15.7% | 33.6% |
| Simpson County, KY | 75 | 14.6% | 28.7% |
| Allen County, KY | 67 | 14.3% | 33.8% |
| Warren County, KY | 67 | 15.3% | 23.3% |
| Macon County, TN | 66 | 16.0% | 27.9% |
| Monroe County, KY | 63 | 20.0% | 39.3% |
| Sumner County, TN | 32 | 8.3% | 15.7% |
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 Allen County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Allen County's poverty rate was 14.3% in 2024, 85th 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, Allen County ranks 82nd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Allen 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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Kentucky 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 Allen County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.