About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Daviess County, Kentucky, have a job
In Daviess County, 18.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 66% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Daviess County's score
In Daviess County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 64.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 42.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Daviess 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.
Even so, Daviess County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (239.7, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.9% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people239.7 · 202583rd percentile
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- 45.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.2% · 202458th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.6% · 202442nd percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,015 · 202446th percentile
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- 43.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.8% · second quarter of 202652nd percentile
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- 43.3 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 rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd percentile
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- 42.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.0% · 2020 to 202433rd 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 Daviess 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 Daviess County, 17.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Daviess County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Daviess County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 28.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Daviess County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Daviess County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.4% in 2016 to 11.9% in 2017.
The share of households in Daviess County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.4%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 10.2% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Daviess County, Kentucky.
How Daviess County has changed
Daviess County's population rose by about a third to 104,457, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 102,830. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Daviess County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Daviess County rose 40% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 40,526. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Daviess County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.7% | 2024 14.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,230 | 2024 $68,015 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Daviess County's history
1815
Established in 1815 from part of Ohio County. Wikipedia
2000
A tornado in January 2000 did $64 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in October 2007 did $11.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in July 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 103,312, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1996
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Daviess County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Daviess County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Daviess County, in Kentucky and Indiana, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Daviess County ranks 3rd of the seven; Ohio County is highest, at 38.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio County, KY | 70 | 15.3% | 38.6% |
| McLean County, KY | 64 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| Henderson County, KY | 63 | 15.7% | 28.2% |
| Daviess County, KY | 46 | 14.2% | 28.8% |
| Hancock County, KY | 37 | 12.5% | 24.1% |
| Warrick County, IN | 14 | 6.6% | 18.6% |
| Spencer County, IN | 6 | 10.4% | 24.5% |
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 Daviess County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Daviess County's poverty rate was 14.2% in 2024, 87th 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, Daviess County ranks 109th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Daviess 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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Kentucky Legal Aid, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Kentucky 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 Daviess 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 Daviess County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.