Bath County, Kentucky

County Distress Index: Elevated · 57.2 | 12,975 people · 54th most distressed in Kentucky
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Bath County, KY registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 57.2 — 1064th 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 54th of 120 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Bath County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 72.5 — above the national median.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 72.5
Poverty Rate 77
Income vs. State Median 57
Child Poverty Rate 84
Community Vulnerability 68.3
Uninsured Rate 46
Disability Rate 90
Employment & Wages 57.3
Unemployment Rate 80
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 20
Business Formation Rate 72
Debt & Delinquency 56.5
Debt in Collections 78
Medical Debt 67
Student Loan Delinquency 26
Auto Loan Delinquency 65
Credit Card Delinquency 36
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 67
Housing Cost Burden 31.6
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 5
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 11
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 54
Homeownership Rate 58
Rent-to-Income Ratio 30

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Bath County
Bath County, KY 57.2 Elevated —
Menifee County, KY 62.0 Elevated +4.8
Rowan County, KY 59.9 Elevated +2.7
Nicholas County, KY 57.5 Elevated +0.2
Fleming County, KY 57.3 Elevated +0.1
Montgomery County, KY 56.0 Elevated -1.2
Bourbon County, KY 52.7 Elevated -4.5

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Bath County
Deaf Smith County, TX 57.2 Elevated 0.0
Audrain County, MO 57.3 Elevated +0.0
Walthall County, MS 57.2 Elevated -0.0
Greenbrier County, WV 57.3 Elevated +0.0
Washington County, IN 57.2 Elevated -0.0

Download Data

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

Find Help in Bath 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 Bath 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 Bath County, Kentucky?

    Bath County has a County Distress Index score of 57.2 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 1,064th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 54th in Kentucky out of 120 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Bath County?

    The primary driver of distress in Bath County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 72.5 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Bath County compare to neighboring counties?

    Bath County (57.2) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Menifee County, KY (62.0); Rowan County, KY (59.9); Nicholas County, KY (57.5).

  • 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 Bath County?

    Bath County, Kentucky has a population of approximately 12,975 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a small county.