In Bourbon County, Kentucky, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in four dollars of the typical household's income
In Bourbon County, 25.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bourbon County's score
In Bourbon County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 84.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 317.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 78.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bourbon 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.
Bourbon County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (3.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.1% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people317.9 · 202592nd percentile
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- 78.8 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 rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.6% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 72.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.1% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
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- 56.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 47.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.5% · 202462nd percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance3.5% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,264 · 202451st 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 Bourbon 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 Bourbon County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bourbon County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bourbon County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 15.5% in 2004 to 22.7% in 2009.
In Bourbon County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 22.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Bourbon County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bourbon County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.0% in 2018 to 11.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Bourbon County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.8% 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, Bourbon County, Kentucky.
How Bourbon County has changed
Bourbon County's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 18,927. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bourbon County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bourbon County rose by about a third to 7,068, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 6,334. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bourbon County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.4% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,180 | 2024 $66,264 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Bourbon County's history
1996
A thunderstorm in May 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A thunderstorm in June 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in September 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 20,252, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1978
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bourbon County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bourbon County beside its neighbors
Bourbon County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bourbon County ranks 5th of the seven; Nicholas County is highest, at 38.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bourbon County, KY | 80 | 13.9% | 22.0% |
| Clark County, KY | 77 | 14.1% | 27.0% |
| Nicholas County, KY | 76 | 16.2% | 38.5% |
| Montgomery County, KY | 71 | 15.5% | 30.1% |
| Harrison County, KY | 65 | 15.5% | 30.7% |
| Fayette County, KY | 53 | 12.7% | 16.2% |
| Scott County, KY | 27 | 8.8% | 16.3% |
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 Bourbon County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Bourbon County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 91st 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, Bourbon County ranks 47th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bourbon 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.
Download the CSV for Bourbon County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Bourbon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.