About one in four people in Hopkins County, Kentucky, has a disability
In Hopkins County, 25.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hopkins County's score
In Hopkins County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 494.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 78.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hopkins 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.
Hopkins County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.9%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.1%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.1% · August 202568th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people494.1 · 202598th percentile
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- 78.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.9% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
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- 71.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.9% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 71.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.1% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability25.9% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,348 · 202477th percentile
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- 50.9 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 income20.1% · fiscal year 202742nd 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 Hopkins 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 Hopkins County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hopkins County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hopkins County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Hopkins County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hopkins County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.6% in 2010 to 16.4% in 2011.
The share of households in Hopkins County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 12.8% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hopkins County, Kentucky.
How Hopkins County has changed
Hopkins County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45,218, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 46,921 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hopkins County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Hopkins County had its largest drop, from 17,512 in 2015 to 15,714 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Hopkins County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 15,714 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hopkins County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.1% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,375 | 2024 $57,348 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Hopkins County's history
1806
Created December 9, 1806, from Henderson County. Wikipedia
1869
Coal discovered and mined starting 1869. Wikipedia
2005
A tornado in November 2005 did $31 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 46,920. The 2020 Census counted 45,423, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A tornado in December 2021 killed 15 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
Lightning in July 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A tornado in May 2024 did $2.7 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hopkins County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hopkins County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hopkins County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hopkins County ranks 3rd of the six; Muhlenberg County is highest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian County, KY | 95 | 17.3% | 28.7% |
| Hopkins County, KY | 85 | 19.3% | 33.1% |
| Muhlenberg County, KY | 84 | 19.1% | 37.6% |
| Caldwell County, KY | 69 | 16.0% | 36.8% |
| McLean County, KY | 64 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| Webster County, KY | 57 | 16.1% | 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 Hopkins County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Hopkins County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 40th 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, Hopkins County ranks 35th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hopkins 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, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Hopkins 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 Hopkins County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.