About one in three people with a credit file in Fleming County, Kentucky, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Fleming County, 33.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fleming County's score
In Fleming County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 82.5. Jobs come next, at 77.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fleming 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.
Fleming County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.2%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.5%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.8% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people226.7 · 202581st percentile
-
- 77.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
-
- 69.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.9% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,093 · 202480th percentile
-
- 61.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.7% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
-
- 32.0 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 rent14.2% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
-
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 Fleming 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 Fleming County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fleming County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Fleming County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 34.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Fleming County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fleming County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 23.7% in 2016 to 20.6% in 2017.
The share of households in Fleming County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 20.3%
Low on the chart: 17.6% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Fleming County, Kentucky.
How Fleming County has changed
Fleming County's population rose 38% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 13,606. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fleming County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Fleming County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 3,416 in 2005 to 2,951 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Fleming County rose 7% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 3,416 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fleming County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.4% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,037 | 2024 $56,093 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Fleming County's history
1798
Established in 1798 from land given by Mason County. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,074. The 2020 Census counted 15,082, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
2000
A flash flood in February 2000 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in July 2017 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1978
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fleming County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fleming County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Fleming County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fleming County ranks 6th of the seven; Lewis County is highest, at 43.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mason County, KY | 82 | 15.2% | 31.4% |
| Lewis County, KY | 82 | 22.2% | 43.8% |
| Rowan County, KY | 82 | 20.8% | 36.4% |
| Bath County, KY | 82 | 22.6% | 39.6% |
| Nicholas County, KY | 76 | 16.2% | 38.5% |
| Robertson County, KY | 75 | 17.3% | 40.6% |
| Fleming County, KY | 74 | 16.5% | 34.5% |
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 Fleming County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Fleming County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 62nd 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, Fleming County ranks 67th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fleming 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.
-
Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
Legal aid
-
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 Fleming 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 Fleming County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.