About three in ten people with a credit file in Jefferson County, Kentucky, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jefferson County, 28.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 70% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jefferson County's score
In Jefferson County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 286.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 66.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (14.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.8% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people286.3 · 202589th percentile
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- 66.3 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 rent22.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 61.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.2% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 53.1 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 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
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- 44.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.6% · 202461st percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.0% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,659 · 202439th 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jefferson County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jefferson County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 20.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Jefferson County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jefferson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.1% in 2011 to 13.5% in 2012.
The share of households in Jefferson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.0% 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, Jefferson County, Kentucky.
How Jefferson County has changed
Jefferson County's population had its largest rise, from 736,705 in 2009 to 768,419 in 2014.
Jefferson County's population rose 16% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 793,881 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jefferson County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Jefferson County rose 29% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 450,132. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jefferson County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.6% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,486 | 2024 $70,659 |
The table uses 4.5% 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 Jefferson County's history
1780
Established by Virginia General Assembly in June 1780, when it partitioned Kentucky County into Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Hail in May 1996 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in April 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in August 2009 did $45 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 782,969, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jefferson County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jefferson County beside its neighbors
Jefferson County scores higher than all eight counties that border it, in Kentucky and Indiana. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jefferson County ranks 6th of the nine; Hardin County is highest, at 27.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, KY | 69 | 14.6% | 20.1% |
| Hardin County, KY | 66 | 12.7% | 27.1% |
| Clark County, IN | 48 | 10.5% | 22.7% |
| Bullitt County, KY | 39 | 8.5% | 20.7% |
| Floyd County, IN | 34 | 10.2% | 20.1% |
| Harrison County, IN | 23 | 8.9% | 23.8% |
| Shelby County, KY | 22 | 9.9% | 17.6% |
| Spencer County, KY | 18 | 7.5% | 20.3% |
| Oldham County, KY | 4 | 6.0% | 11.3% |
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 Jefferson County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Jefferson County's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2024, 83rd 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, Jefferson County ranks 78th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jefferson 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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Apprisen - CCCS of the Midwest - Louisville
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Louisville Urban League
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Aid Society
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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.