Unemployment in Hardin County, Kentucky, is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties
In Hardin County, 5.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hardin County's score
In Hardin County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 339.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 71.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hardin 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.
Hardin County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.5%, fiscal year 2027) and people without health insurance (5.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.3% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people339.4 · 202593rd percentile
-
- 71.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202682nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.2% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
-
- 67.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.6% · second quarter of 202658th percentile
-
- 43.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.7% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,505 · 202439th percentile
-
- 35.0 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 rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th 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 Hardin 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 Hardin County, 15.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hardin County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hardin County had its largest rise, from 15.4% in 2004 to 20.6% in 2009.
In Hardin County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about nine times its 1969 level, reaching 27.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Hardin County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income grew to about nine times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hardin County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 10.7% in 2019 to 8.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Hardin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 8.5% 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, Hardin County, Kentucky.
How Hardin County has changed
Hardin County's population rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 74,778 in 1974 to 85,326 in 1979.
Hardin County's population rose by about half to 112,826, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 112,826 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hardin County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hardin County rose by about half to 48,702, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 46,912. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hardin County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,427 | 2024 $70,505 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Hardin County's history
1792
Established in 1792 from land partitioned from Nelson County; 15th Kentucky county in order of formation. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A thunderstorm in May 1995 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Lightning in July 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 110,702, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A flash flood in February 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1970
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hardin County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hardin County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Hardin County, in Kentucky and Indiana, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hardin County ranks 5th of the 10; Grayson County is highest, at 36.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grayson County, KY | 79 | 22.4% | 36.5% |
| Hart County, KY | 75 | 18.0% | 32.4% |
| Breckinridge County, KY | 73 | 18.3% | 35.6% |
| Jefferson County, KY | 69 | 14.6% | 20.1% |
| Larue County, KY | 67 | 14.1% | 32.3% |
| Hardin County, KY | 66 | 12.7% | 27.1% |
| Meade County, KY | 47 | 9.8% | 23.3% |
| Nelson County, KY | 44 | 11.7% | 23.7% |
| Bullitt County, KY | 39 | 8.5% | 20.7% |
| Harrison County, IN | 23 | 8.9% | 23.8% |
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 Hardin County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Hardin County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 100th 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, Hardin County ranks 84th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hardin 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 Society
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 Hardin 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 Hardin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.