About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Graves County, Kentucky, is not working
In Graves County, 26.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Graves County's score
In Graves County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 71.8. About one in four children (24.3%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 80% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 65.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Graves 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.
Graves County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.2%, 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.
- 71.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.6% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.3% · 202480th percentile
- People with a disability19.8% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,968 · 202478th percentile
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- 65.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.6% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people164.6 · 202564th percentile
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- 64.0 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 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.6% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 55.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.1% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 46.0 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 rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd 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 Graves 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 Graves County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Graves County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Graves County had its largest rise, from 24.8% in 2004 to 29.5% in 2009.
In Graves County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Graves County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.3%; 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 Graves County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a fifth from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.8%, with most of the change between 2011 and 2012
High on the chart: 15.8% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Graves County, Kentucky.
How Graves County has changed
Graves County's population had its largest rise, from 35,067 in 1994 to 36,851 in 1999.
Graves County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36,821
High on the chart: 37,465 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Graves County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Graves County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 12,218 in 2000 to 10,699 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Graves County rose 16% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 12,218 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Graves County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.8% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 16.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,122 | 2024 $56,968 |
The table uses 4.1% 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 Graves County's history
1824
Formed in 1824. Wikipedia
1860
Mayfield Woolen Mills founded 1860 marked beginning of clothing manufacturing main industry for hundred years. Wikipedia
1900
Black Patch Tobacco Wars involved destroyed warehouses and tobacco properties. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 37,121. The 2020 Census counted 36,649, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A thunderstorm in June 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A tornado in December 2021 killed 24 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in July 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flood in February 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Graves County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Graves County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Graves County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Graves County ranks 2nd of the eight; Hickman County is highest, at 35.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weakley County, TN | 79 | 17.3% | 30.4% |
| Henry County, TN | 79 | 17.1% | 29.9% |
| Calloway County, KY | 68 | 15.9% | 29.3% |
| Graves County, KY | 68 | 16.6% | 32.3% |
| McCracken County, KY | 66 | 13.9% | 23.7% |
| Hickman County, KY | 59 | 18.9% | 35.3% |
| Carlisle County, KY | 54 | 13.9% | 26.1% |
| Marshall County, KY | 51 | 10.7% | 31.2% |
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 Graves County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Graves County's poverty rate was 16.6% in 2024, 60th 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, Graves County ranks 80th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Graves 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
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 Graves 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 Graves County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.