About one in 13 people in Boone County, Kentucky, lives below the poverty line
In Boone County, 7.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Boone County's score
In Boone County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 62.2. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 11.0. The typical household earns $103,122 a year (2024), more than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Boone 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.
Even so, Boone County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (243.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.6% · August 202540th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people243.4 · 202584th percentile
-
- 34.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202644th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
-
- 33.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.0% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
-
- 32.3 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 rent18.6% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.8% · fiscal year 202711th percentile
-
- 11.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.5% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.8% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability12.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$103,122 · 20244th percentile
-
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 Boone 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 Boone County, 14.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Boone County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Boone County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 16.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Boone County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.0% in 2009 to 6.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 6.5%
Low on the chart: 4.9% 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, Boone County, Kentucky.
How Boone County has changed
Boone County's population had its largest rise, from 83,349 in 1999 to 100,822 in 2004.
Boone County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 144,135, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 49,322. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Boone County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Boone County tripled to 105,521, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 68,568. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Boone County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.9% | 2024 7.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $33,730 | 2024 $103,122 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Boone County's history
1789
John Tanner, age 10, captured by Ojibwe Indians in 1789 across from the mouth of the Great Miami River. Wikipedia
1798
Created 1798 from Campbell County as the northernmost county in Kentucky. Wikipedia
1956
A tornado in July 1956 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in June 1996 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in July 1996 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 135,968, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1974
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Boone County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Boone County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Boone County, in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Boone County ranks 7th of the eight; Grant County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallatin County, KY | 76 | 12.6% | 27.8% |
| Switzerland County, IN | 61 | 14.3% | 28.3% |
| Hamilton County, OH | 61 | 14.2% | 16.5% |
| Grant County, KY | 61 | 13.5% | 29.6% |
| Ohio County, IN | 55 | 11.3% | 28.6% |
| Kenton County, KY | 40 | 9.8% | 15.6% |
| Dearborn County, IN | 25 | 8.6% | 22.0% |
| Boone County, KY | 23 | 7.5% | 16.0% |
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 Boone County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Boone County's poverty rate was 7.5% in 2024, 118th 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, Boone County ranks 116th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Boone 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.
-
Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
Legal aid
-
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 Boone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.