About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Casey County, Kentucky, is not working
In Casey County, 36.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Casey County's score
In Casey County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 83.8. Income and the safety net comes next, at 82.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Casey 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.
Casey County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working36.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 82.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.8% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.0% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability18.1% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- People without health insurance13.0% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,938 · 202492nd percentile
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- 77.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.8% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.9% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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- 74.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.6% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people238.7 · 202583rd percentile
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- 55.5 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 rent17.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th 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 Casey 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 Casey County, 20.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Casey County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Casey County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 42.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Casey County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42.3%; 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 Casey County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 14.8%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 15.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Casey County, Kentucky.
How Casey County has changed
Casey County's population had its largest drop, from 15,241 in 1984 to 14,291 in 1989.
Casey County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15,948
High on the chart: 16,039 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Casey County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Casey County rose 38% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 3,386. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Casey County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.6% | 2024 18.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,048 | 2024 $48,938 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Casey County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 19,962. The 2020 Census counted 15,941, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in April 1998 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
Lightning in April 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
34 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Casey County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Casey County beside its neighbors
Casey County scores higher than all seven counties that border it. Of the group, Casey County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (42.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casey County, KY | 89 | 18.8% | 42.3% |
| Pulaski County, KY | 83 | 20.1% | 42.1% |
| Russell County, KY | 81 | 18.8% | 31.1% |
| Taylor County, KY | 80 | 16.4% | 38.4% |
| Adair County, KY | 80 | 21.2% | 39.2% |
| Lincoln County, KY | 77 | 17.3% | 37.5% |
| Boyle County, KY | 72 | 14.8% | 28.5% |
| Marion County, KY | 60 | 16.4% | 32.1% |
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 Casey County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Casey County's poverty rate was 18.8% in 2024, 44th 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, Casey County ranks 32nd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Casey 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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AppalReD 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.
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 Casey County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.