In Clay County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2006
In 2024, 57 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clay County's score
In Clay County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 407.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 94.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clay 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.
Clay County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (5.5%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people407.2 · 2025top 5%
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- 94.1 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 rent32.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.0% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
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- 93.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202691st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working38.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 80.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line33.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line40.6% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability27.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$39,016 · 2024top 5%
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- 67.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score64.0% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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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 Clay 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 Clay County, 16.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clay County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Clay County had its largest rise, from 42.9% in 2004 to 49.6% in 2009.
In Clay County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Clay County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 56.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 23.9% in 2010 to 27.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 34.7%
Low on the chart: 20.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clay County, Kentucky.
How Clay County has changed
Clay County's population had its largest rise, from 20,294 in 1974 to 22,550 in 1979.
Clay County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 24,522 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clay County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Clay County rose most sharply from its first year (3,822 in 1990) to 5,056 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Clay County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 5,056 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clay County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 6.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 43.4% | 2024 33.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,009 | 2024 $39,016 |
The table uses 6.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.9% 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 Clay County's history
1807
1807 from land given by Floyd, Knox and Madison counties. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 24,556. The 2020 Census counted 20,345, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
A flash flood in July 2022 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
46 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clay County, 32 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clay County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Clay County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clay County ranks 3rd of the eight; Owsley County is highest, at 65.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County, KY | 99 | 30.7% | 49.2% |
| Bell County, KY | 98 | 31.8% | 56.0% |
| Clay County, KY | 98 | 33.6% | 56.5% |
| Owsley County, KY | 95 | 34.6% | 65.1% |
| Jackson County, KY | 94 | 22.0% | 44.0% |
| Leslie County, KY | 91 | 31.2% | 58.6% |
| Perry County, KY | 91 | 24.5% | 49.9% |
| Laurel County, KY | 90 | 17.8% | 35.7% |
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 Clay County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 33.6% in 2024, 5th 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, Clay County ranks 5th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clay 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 Clay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.