In Calloway County, Kentucky, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in four dollars of the typical household's income
In Calloway County, 24.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 81% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calloway County's score
In Calloway County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 74.0. Jobs come next, at 66.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calloway 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.
Calloway County does better than most counties on two measures: people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (19.1%, August 2025) and children below the poverty line (16.3%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.0 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 rent20.9% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.6% · fiscal year 202781st percentile
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- 66.9 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 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 61.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.9% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 59.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.9% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.3% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,410 · 202479th percentile
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- 42.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people128 · 202551st 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 Calloway 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 Calloway County, 16.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calloway County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Calloway County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Calloway County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Calloway County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 10.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Calloway County, Kentucky.
How Calloway County has changed
Calloway County's population rose 45% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 38,975. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calloway County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Calloway County rose 40% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 16,403 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calloway County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.2% | 2024 15.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,768 | 2024 $56,410 |
The table uses 5.0% 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 Calloway County's history
1862
Union soldiers from Paducah marched across county in spring 1862, taking anything wanted without paying. Wikipedia
1968
A tornado in April 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 37,191. The 2020 Census counted 37,103, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A thunderstorm in April 2011 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
Lightning in June 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in February 2021 did $2.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calloway County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calloway County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Calloway County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, two score higher. Of the group, Calloway County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Trigg County gets the largest, at 34.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County, TN | 79 | 17.1% | 29.9% |
| Trigg County, KY | 78 | 13.9% | 34.0% |
| Calloway County, KY | 68 | 15.9% | 29.3% |
| Graves County, KY | 68 | 16.6% | 32.3% |
| Marshall County, KY | 51 | 10.7% | 31.2% |
| Stewart County, TN | 41 | 17.1% | 33.5% |
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 Calloway County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Calloway County's poverty rate was 15.9% in 2024, 69th 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, Calloway County ranks 79th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calloway 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 Calloway 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 Calloway County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.