About one in four people in Caldwell County, Kentucky, has a disability
In Caldwell County, 27.0% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Caldwell County's score
In Caldwell County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 255 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 85% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 76.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Caldwell 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.
Caldwell County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (2.5%, August 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.7% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people255 · 202585th percentile
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- 76.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.0% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.3% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability27.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance8.2% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,984 · 202488th percentile
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- 58.7 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 working23.3% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 51.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.1% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 42.5 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd 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 Caldwell 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 Caldwell County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Caldwell County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Caldwell County had its largest rise, from 24.8% in 2004 to 32.3% in 2009.
In Caldwell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 39% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Caldwell County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Caldwell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.9% in 2022 to 12.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Caldwell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.0%
Low on the chart: 11.3% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Caldwell County, Kentucky.
How Caldwell County has changed
Caldwell County's population fell 4% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 13,624 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Caldwell County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Caldwell County rose by about a third to 4,673, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 4,216. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Caldwell County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.4% | 2024 16.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,863 | 2024 $51,984 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 Caldwell County's history
1809
Formed 1809 from Livingston County. Wikipedia
1838
Cherokee camped for several weeks in Caldwell County during winter 1838 on Trail of Tears, mainly at Big Springs. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,510. The 2020 Census counted 12,649, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1900
Dark Fired Tobacco boom by turn of century made Caldwell County part of "Black Patch" growing region. Wikipedia
1906
Night Riders burned all Duke tobacco warehouses in Princeton in December 1906. Wikipedia
1908
Black Patch Wars suppressed around 1908 with aid of Kentucky state militia. Wikipedia
1925
University of Kentucky Research and Education Center established in Princeton in 1925. Wikipedia
2015
A flash flood in July 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A tornado in December 2021 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flood in February 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A thunderstorm in May 2025 did $2.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Caldwell County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Caldwell County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Caldwell County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Caldwell County ranks 2nd of the seven; Crittenden County is highest, at 37.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian County, KY | 95 | 17.3% | 28.7% |
| Hopkins County, KY | 85 | 19.3% | 33.1% |
| Trigg County, KY | 78 | 13.9% | 34.0% |
| Crittenden County, KY | 73 | 17.5% | 37.0% |
| Caldwell County, KY | 69 | 16.0% | 36.8% |
| Webster County, KY | 57 | 16.1% | 31.2% |
| Lyon County, KY | 51 | 15.3% | 34.1% |
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 Caldwell County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Caldwell County's poverty rate was 16.0% in 2024, 68th 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, Caldwell County ranks 77th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Caldwell 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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Kentucky Legal Aid
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 Caldwell 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 Caldwell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.