About one in four people in Hickman County, Kentucky, has a disability
In Hickman County, 24.0% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hickman County's score
In Hickman County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 79.6. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 67.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hickman 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.
Hickman County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (1.4%, August 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (6.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.9% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.8% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability24.0% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,997 · 202475th percentile
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- 67.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.3% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people224.9 · 202581st percentile
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- 64.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.8% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 50.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.8% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 17.8 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 rent6.7% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th 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 Hickman 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 Hickman County, 25.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hickman County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hickman County had its largest rise, from 24.2% in 2004 to 30.1% in 2009.
In Hickman County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 35.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Hickman County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.3%; 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 Hickman County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 19.1%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
Low on the chart: 9.3% 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, Hickman County, Kentucky.
How Hickman County has changed
Hickman County's population fell most sharply after its 1974 high, from 6,450 in 1974 to 6,068 in 1979.
Hickman County's population fell by about a third to 4,393, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 6,450 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hickman County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Hickman County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 1,319 in 2000 to 986 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Hickman County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2020, reaching 883, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 1,319 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hickman County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.2% | 2024 18.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,446 | 2024 $57,997 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Hickman County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 11,750. The 2020 Census counted 4,521, 38% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flash flood in February 2011 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hickman County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hickman County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hickman County, in Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hickman County ranks 3rd of the seven; Fulton County is highest, at 47.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi County, MO | 98 | 21.0% | 40.7% |
| Fulton County, KY | 96 | 23.9% | 47.0% |
| Weakley County, TN | 79 | 17.3% | 30.4% |
| Graves County, KY | 68 | 16.6% | 32.3% |
| Obion County, TN | 64 | 15.6% | 29.8% |
| Hickman County, KY | 59 | 18.9% | 35.3% |
| Carlisle County, KY | 54 | 13.9% | 26.1% |
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 Hickman County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Hickman County's poverty rate was 18.9% in 2024, 42nd 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, Hickman County ranks 97th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hickman 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 Hickman 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 Hickman County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.