About one in four people in Bath County, Kentucky, lives below the poverty line
In Bath County, 22.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bath County's score
In Bath County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 89.8. Unemployment averaged 5.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bath 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.
Bath County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (4.7%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202689th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.1% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
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- 85.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.6% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line35.7% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability20.4% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,078 · 202486th percentile
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- 72.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.2% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people169.6 · 202566th percentile
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- 63.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.7% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 34.3 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 rent12.3% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th 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 Bath 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 Bath County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bath County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bath County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 39.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Bath County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bath County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 21.4% in 2009 to 24.3% in 2010.
The share of households in Bath County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 20.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bath County, Kentucky.
How Bath County has changed
Bath County's population rose 40% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 10,911. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bath County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bath County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,937, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,016 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bath County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.8% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.0% | 2024 22.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,234 | 2024 $53,078 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Bath County's history
1795
Colonel Thomas Dye Owings sent to Kentucky in 1795 to operate some of the first iron furnaces in the region. Wikipedia
1811
Established 1811 from land given by Montgomery County, Kentucky. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,734. The 2020 Census counted 12,750, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A flash flood in January 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in April 2020 killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Lightning in August 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bath County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bath County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Bath County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bath County ranks 2nd of the six; Menifee County is highest, at 46.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menifee County, KY | 90 | 23.6% | 46.6% |
| Rowan County, KY | 82 | 20.8% | 36.4% |
| Bath County, KY | 82 | 22.6% | 39.6% |
| Nicholas County, KY | 76 | 16.2% | 38.5% |
| Fleming County, KY | 74 | 16.5% | 34.5% |
| Montgomery County, KY | 71 | 15.5% | 30.1% |
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 Bath County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Bath County's poverty rate was 22.6% in 2024, 24th 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, Bath County ranks 43rd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bath 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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Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
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 Bath County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.