In Bracken County, Kentucky, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in four dollars of the typical household's income
In Bracken County, 26.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bracken County's score
In Bracken County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 76.8. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 73.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bracken 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.
Bracken County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (4.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.0% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 73.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.3% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people332.3 · 202593rd percentile
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- 70.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.8% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
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- 68.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.4% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 53.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.8% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.2% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability19.9% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,635 · 202450th 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 Bracken 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 Bracken County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bracken County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bracken County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Bracken County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bracken County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.9% in 2022 to 16.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Bracken County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 11.8% 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, Bracken County, Kentucky.
How Bracken County has changed
Bracken County's population had its largest rise, from 7,597 in 1989 to 8,062 in 1994.
Bracken County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 8,592 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bracken County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bracken County rose by about a third to 1,564, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 1,564. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bracken County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.2% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,030 | 2024 $66,635 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Bracken County's history
1796
Organized as Kentucky's 23rd county in 1796 from Mason and Campbell counties. Wikipedia
1797
Captain Abner Howell brought his family from Pennsylvania and died in Bracken County in 1797. Wikipedia
1867
White burley tobacco first sold at 1867 St. Louis Fair from Bracken County seed developed in 1864. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 12,137. The 2020 Census counted 8,400, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
1968
A tornado in April 1968 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A thunderstorm in July 2001 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in July 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bracken County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bracken County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Bracken County, in Kentucky and Ohio, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bracken County ranks 2nd of the seven; Robertson County is highest, at 40.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mason County, KY | 82 | 15.2% | 31.4% |
| Bracken County, KY | 81 | 13.8% | 33.4% |
| Robertson County, KY | 75 | 17.3% | 40.6% |
| Pendleton County, KY | 72 | 13.7% | 27.8% |
| Brown County, OH | 68 | 15.2% | 30.3% |
| Harrison County, KY | 65 | 15.5% | 30.7% |
| Clermont County, OH | 33 | 8.6% | 20.6% |
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 Bracken County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Bracken County's poverty rate was 13.8% in 2024, 96th 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, Bracken County ranks 46th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bracken 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 Bracken 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 Bracken County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.