In Harlan County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2013
In 2024, 59 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Harlan County's score
In Harlan County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 96.3. About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 (40.3%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 98% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 91.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Harlan 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.
Harlan County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (4.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorAdults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working40.3% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average6.2% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202694th percentile
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- 91.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.2% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people363.3 · 202594th percentile
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- 82.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line38.2% · 202498th percentile
- People with a disability27.2% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,808 · 202498th percentile
- People below the poverty line29.4% · 202498th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
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- 80.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.6% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 72.2 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.2% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Harlan 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 Harlan County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Harlan County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Harlan County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Harlan County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 59.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Harlan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 30.7% in 2018 to 28.4% in 2019.
The share of households in Harlan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 26.5%
Low on the chart: 25.5% 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, Harlan County, Kentucky.
How Harlan County has changed
Harlan County's population had its largest drop, from 41,412 in 1984 to 36,908 in 1989.
Harlan County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 41% since
High on the chart: 42,245 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Harlan County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Harlan County had its largest drop, from 8,486 in 2010 to 6,227 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Harlan County fell 37% from 1990 to 2024, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 5,767 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2024, Harlan County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.4% | 2025 6.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.1% | 2024 29.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,504 | 2024 $41,808 |
The table uses 6.8% for 2025; the score uses 6.2% for the latest 12 months (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Harlan County's history
1819
Formed in 1819 from a part of Knox County. Wikipedia
1911
The first shipment of coal by railroad from Harlan County occurred in 1911. Wikipedia
1930
Often-violent confrontations between strikers, strikebreakers, mine company security forces, and law enforcement termed the Harlan County Wars. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 75,275. The 2020 Census counted 26,831, 36% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A thunderstorm in February 1997 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flash flood in April 2013 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in February 2020 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Harlan County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Harlan County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Harlan County, in Kentucky and Virginia, one scores higher. Of the group, Harlan County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (59.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell County, KY | 98 | 31.8% | 56.0% |
| Harlan County, KY | 97 | 29.4% | 59.0% |
| Lee County, VA | 96 | 26.0% | 45.8% |
| Leslie County, KY | 91 | 31.2% | 58.6% |
| Perry County, KY | 91 | 24.5% | 49.9% |
| Letcher County, KY | 86 | 25.3% | 57.8% |
| Wise County, VA | 85 | 19.5% | — |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Harlan County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Harlan County's poverty rate was 29.4% in 2024, 11th 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, Harlan County ranks 6th of 120 in the state.
Harlan County in photographs
Places in Harlan County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Harlan 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 1,011 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 Harlan County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- Two-bedroom rent 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 Harlan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.