About one in four people with a credit file in Franklin County, Kentucky, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Franklin County, 26.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 61% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 76.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 300.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 61.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin 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.
Franklin County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.4%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (17.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.4% · August 202562nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people300.1 · 202591st percentile
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- 61.3 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 rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 61.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.1% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 43.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.3% · 202442nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.8% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance5.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,103 · 202460th percentile
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- 37.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202644th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.6% · 2020 to 202430th 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 28.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 28.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 12.3% in 2011 to 14.6% in 2012; 14.6% in 2015 to 12.3% in 2016.
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 8.6% 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, Franklin County, Kentucky.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population had its largest rise, from 37,459 in 1974 to 41,563 in 1979.
Franklin County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 52,442, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 43,749. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County rose by about a quarter to 35,322, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 35,322. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 12.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,085 | 2024 $63,103 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Franklin County's history
1795
Established in 1795 from land given by Mercer, Shelby, and Woodford counties. Wikipedia
1969
North Frankfort levee finished 1969; South Frankfort floodwall built 1990s for flood protection. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in August 2003 did $3 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in September 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 51,541, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in December 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Franklin County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Franklin County ranks 2nd of the seven; Owen County is highest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County, KY | 74 | 15.1% | 28.2% |
| Franklin County, KY | 59 | 12.3% | 28.9% |
| Owen County, KY | 58 | 13.9% | 33.3% |
| Anderson County, KY | 50 | 9.5% | 23.7% |
| Scott County, KY | 27 | 8.8% | 16.3% |
| Shelby County, KY | 22 | 9.9% | 17.6% |
| Woodford County, KY | 15 | 9.7% | 18.6% |
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 Franklin County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 106th 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, Franklin County ranks 96th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin 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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Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
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 Franklin 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 Franklin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.