Clay County, Kentucky

County Distress Index: Serious · 67.0 | 19,648 people · 21st most distressed in Kentucky
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Clay County, KY shows significant household financial distress with a score of 67.0 — 381st nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Kentucky, it ranks 21st of 120 counties. Among its 7 neighboring counties, 4 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Clay County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 95.0 — worse than roughly 95% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 95.0
Poverty Rate 95
Income vs. State Median 95
Child Poverty Rate 95
Employment & Wages 66.5
Unemployment Rate 78
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 29
Business Formation Rate 92
Debt & Delinquency 62.1
Debt in Collections 94
Medical Debt 71
Student Loan Delinquency 5
Auto Loan Delinquency 58
Credit Card Delinquency 50
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 95
Housing Cost Burden 57.0
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 68
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 87
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 6
Homeownership Rate 32
Rent-to-Income Ratio 93
Community Vulnerability 54.1
Uninsured Rate 13
Disability Rate 95

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Clay County compares to its 7 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Clay County
Clay County, KY 67.0 Serious —
Bell County, KY 77.8 Serious +10.8
Knox County, KY 71.5 Serious +4.6
Jackson County, KY 69.0 Serious +2.1
Owsley County, KY 67.2 Serious +0.2
Perry County, KY 61.8 Elevated -5.1
Laurel County, KY 60.8 Elevated -6.2
Leslie County, KY 59.7 Elevated -7.2

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Clay County
Haskell County, OK 67.0 Serious +0.1
Drew County, AR 66.9 Serious -0.1
Estill County, KY 67.0 Serious +0.1
Tattnall County, GA 67.1 Serious +0.1
Cass County, TX 66.8 Serious -0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Clay County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Clay County

Find an Attorney

Kentucky Bar Association Lawyer Referral offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Kentucky Bar Association Lawyer Referral 502-564-3795

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Clay County residents at no cost.

Legal Aid of the Bluegrass 1-800-928-4615
Kentucky Legal Aid 1-866-452-9243
Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky (866) 277-5733
Legal Aid Society (502) 584-1254

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Clay County, Kentucky?

    Clay County has a County Distress Index score of 67.0 out of 100, placing it in the Serious zone. It ranks 381st nationally out of 3,144 counties and 21st in Kentucky out of 120 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Clay County?

    The primary driver of distress in Clay County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 95.0 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Clay County compare to neighboring counties?

    Clay County (67.0) can be compared to its 7 neighboring counties: Bell County, KY (77.8); Knox County, KY (71.5); Jackson County, KY (69.0).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Clay County?

    Clay County, Kentucky has a population of approximately 19,648 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a small county.