In Clinton County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 49 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 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clinton County's score
In Clinton County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 86.1. People with a credit card behind: 9.6%, August 2025, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 82.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clinton 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.
Clinton County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (7.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.2% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 82.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.4% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.4% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability22.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance7.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$42,798 · 2024top 5%
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- 73.5 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 rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.5% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 68.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202686th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
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- 67.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.3% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people131.2 · 202552nd 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 Clinton 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 Clinton County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clinton County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Clinton County had its largest rise, from 32.7% in 1989 to 39.9% in 1994.
In Clinton County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Clinton County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 48.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clinton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.5% in 2017 to 24.9% in 2018.
The share of households in Clinton County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 25.0%, with its low point on the chart in 2014
Low on the chart: 19.1% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clinton County, Kentucky.
How Clinton County has changed
Clinton County's population rose most sharply from its first year (8,227 in 1969) to 8,850 in 1974.
Clinton County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 10,227 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clinton County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Clinton County had its largest rise, from 2,356 in 1995 to 3,661 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Clinton County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 3,945 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clinton County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.8% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 38.6% | 2024 21.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $10,542 | 2024 $42,798 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.3% 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 Clinton County's history
1835
Clinton County was formed on February 20, 1835, from portions of Cumberland and Wayne counties. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 10,605. The 2020 Census counted 9,253, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed eight people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A tornado in January 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clinton County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clinton County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Clinton County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, one scores higher. Of the group, Clinton County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (48.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, KY | 95 | 28.8% | 48.6% |
| Clinton County, KY | 90 | 21.4% | 48.8% |
| Clay County, TN | 84 | 19.7% | 34.5% |
| Russell County, KY | 81 | 18.8% | 31.1% |
| Cumberland County, KY | 76 | 19.8% | 47.7% |
| Pickett County, TN | 60 | 15.8% | 37.0% |
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 Clinton County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Clinton County's poverty rate was 21.4% in 2024, 30th 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, Clinton County ranks 29th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clinton 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.
Download the CSV for Clinton 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 Clinton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.