In Cumberland County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2007
In 2024, 48 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 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cumberland County's score
In Cumberland County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 88.3. The typical household earns $47,274 a year (2024), less than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 73.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cumberland 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.
Cumberland County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.5%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.8% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.1% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability21.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance12.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,274 · 2024top 5%
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- 73.1 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 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.5% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 62.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.9% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 56.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.9% · August 202552nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people150 · 202559th percentile
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- 48.4 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 rent13.5% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.1% · fiscal year 202771st 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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cumberland County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cumberland County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 40.3% in 2004 to 48.0% in 2009.
In Cumberland County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Cumberland County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cumberland County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2023 high, from 22.0% in 2022 to 27.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Cumberland County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 13.6% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cumberland County, Kentucky.
How Cumberland County has changed
Cumberland County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1979 high, from 6,971 in 1974 to 7,413 in 1979.
Cumberland County's population fell 13% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 7,413 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cumberland County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cumberland County rose 44% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 2,520 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cumberland County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.6% | 2024 19.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,236 | 2024 $47,274 |
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 Cumberland County's history
1798
Created in 1798 from land given by Green County. Wikipedia
1829
First commercial oil well in the United States dug 1829 three miles north of Burkesville. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 11,923. The 2020 Census counted 5,888, 49% of the peak. Census Bureau
1941
Wolf Creek Dam completed, transforming Burkesville from river port to dam-dependent town. Wikipedia
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Since 1969
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cumberland County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cumberland County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cumberland County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cumberland County ranks 2nd of the seven; Clinton County is highest, at 48.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton County, KY | 90 | 21.4% | 48.8% |
| Clay County, TN | 84 | 19.7% | 34.5% |
| Russell County, KY | 81 | 18.8% | 31.1% |
| Adair County, KY | 80 | 21.2% | 39.2% |
| Cumberland County, KY | 76 | 19.8% | 47.7% |
| Metcalfe County, KY | 71 | 20.9% | 45.1% |
| Monroe County, KY | 63 | 20.0% | 39.3% |
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 Cumberland County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Cumberland County's poverty rate was 19.8% in 2024, 39th 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, Cumberland County ranks 58th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.