In Clark County, Kentucky, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in four dollars of the typical household's income
In Clark County, 26.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clark County's score
In Clark County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 79.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 270.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 73.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clark 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.
Clark County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (4.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.9% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people270.7 · 202587th percentile
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- 73.4 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 rent19.3% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.6% · fiscal year 202789th percentile
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- 68.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.9% · second quarter of 202666th 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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- 52.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.2% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability20.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,815 · 202458th 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 Clark 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 Clark 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
Clark County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clark County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Clark County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.3% in 2017 to 14.9% in 2018.
The share of households in Clark County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 13.5%
Low on the chart: 12.0% 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, Clark County, Kentucky.
How Clark County has changed
Clark County's population had its largest rise, from 23,775 in 1969 to 26,544 in 1974.
Clark County's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37,673, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 35,859. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clark County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Clark County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 13,539, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 14,144 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clark County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,652 | 2024 $63,815 |
The table uses 4.3% 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 Clark County's history
1792
Created in 1792 from Bourbon and Fayette counties. Wikipedia
1914
Hemp vanished as a cash crop around World War I. Wikipedia
1995
A thunderstorm in May 1995 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A thunderstorm in April 2015 did $1,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 36,972, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clark County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clark County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Clark County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clark County ranks 4th of the seven; Estill County is highest, at 44.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell County, KY | 94 | 20.8% | 42.2% |
| Estill County, KY | 93 | 21.0% | 44.2% |
| Bourbon County, KY | 80 | 13.9% | 22.0% |
| Clark County, KY | 77 | 14.1% | 27.0% |
| Montgomery County, KY | 71 | 15.5% | 30.1% |
| Madison County, KY | 63 | 16.4% | 25.6% |
| Fayette County, KY | 53 | 12.7% | 16.2% |
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 Clark County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Clark County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 88th 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, Clark County ranks 55th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clark 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 Clark County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.