About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Garrard County, Kentucky, is not working
In Garrard County, 26.2% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 78% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Garrard County's score
In Garrard County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 69.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 213.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 77% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 68.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Garrard 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.
Garrard County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.5%, fiscal year 2027) and people without health insurance (7.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.9% · August 202560th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people213.1 · 202577th percentile
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- 68.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.2% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.3% · 202459th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.5% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,539 · 202456th percentile
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- 56.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.4% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.1% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 36.6 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 rent19.1% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.5% · fiscal year 202717th 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 Garrard 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 Garrard 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
Garrard County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Garrard County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 30.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Garrard County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Garrard County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 12.4%
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 13.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Garrard County, Kentucky.
How Garrard County has changed
Garrard County's population doubled to 18,040, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 14,529. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Garrard County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Garrard County rose by about a quarter to 2,688, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 2,688 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Garrard County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.7% | 2024 14.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,246 | 2024 $64,539 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Garrard County's history
1796
Formed in 1796 from portions of Lincoln, Mercer and Madison Counties, becoming the 25th county to be formed in the state. Wikipedia
1861
Camp Dick Robinson was first Federal base south of the Ohio River during Civil War. Wikipedia
1996
A flash flood in July 1996 did $1.07 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 16,953, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Garrard County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Garrard County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Garrard County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Garrard County ranks 3rd of the seven; Rockcastle County is highest, at 43.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockcastle County, KY | 94 | 21.8% | 43.3% |
| Lincoln County, KY | 77 | 17.3% | 37.5% |
| Boyle County, KY | 72 | 14.8% | 28.5% |
| Madison County, KY | 63 | 16.4% | 25.6% |
| Garrard County, KY | 62 | 14.3% | 30.0% |
| Mercer County, KY | 55 | 12.2% | 29.2% |
| Jessamine County, KY | 49 | 12.6% | 17.9% |
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 Garrard County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Garrard County's poverty rate was 14.3% in 2024, 85th 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, Garrard County ranks 92nd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Garrard 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 Garrard 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 Garrard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.