About two in five people with a credit file in Carroll County, Kentucky, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Carroll County, 41.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Carroll County's score
In Carroll County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 82.8. Late payments on loans come next, at 80.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Carroll 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.
Carroll County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.6%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people182 · 202570th percentile
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- 80.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.4% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.7% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 68.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.3% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.2% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,791 · 202452nd percentile
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- 56.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202649th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.9% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 37.4 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County, 16.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Carroll County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Carroll County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Carroll County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Carroll County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.0% in 2020 to 13.1% in 2021.
The share of households in Carroll County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 12.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Carroll County, Kentucky.
How Carroll County has changed
Carroll County's population rose by about a third to 11,111, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 9,467. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Carroll County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Carroll County doubled to 7,875, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 5,665. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Carroll County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.8% | 2024 17.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,872 | 2024 $65,791 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Carroll County's history
1838
Formed 1838 from sections of other counties. Wikipedia
1863
Confederates robbed Southern Bank of Kentucky in Carrollton on September 3, 1863 during Civil War. Wikipedia
1937
Carrollton's most severe flood was Ohio River flood of 1937 with floodwaters crested at 79.9 feet. Wikipedia
1959
A tornado in February 1959 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in November 1992 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 10,811. The 2020 Census counted 10,810, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $1,277,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Carroll County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Carroll County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Carroll County, in Kentucky and Indiana, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Carroll County ranks 2nd of the seven; Owen County is highest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallatin County, KY | 76 | 12.6% | 27.8% |
| Carroll County, KY | 75 | 17.3% | 30.0% |
| Henry County, KY | 74 | 15.1% | 28.2% |
| Switzerland County, IN | 61 | 14.3% | 28.3% |
| Owen County, KY | 58 | 13.9% | 33.3% |
| Trimble County, KY | 53 | 12.5% | 28.5% |
| Jefferson County, IN | 48 | 14.2% | 29.7% |
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 Carroll County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Carroll County's poverty rate was 17.3% in 2024, 55th 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, Carroll County ranks 64th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Carroll 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.