In Knox County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2014
In 2024, 49 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 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Knox County's score
In Knox County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.6. About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 (43.0%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 98% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 94.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Knox 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.
Knox County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202692nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working43.0% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
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- 94.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.1% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people426.3 · 202596th percentile
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- 88.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line30.7% · 202498th percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.9% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability24.1% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$40,065 · 202499th percentile
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- 84.6 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 rent23.0% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.2% · fiscal year 202791st percentile
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- 82.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.5% · second quarter of 202690th 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 Knox 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 Knox County, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Knox County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Knox County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Knox County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 49.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Knox County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 34.5% in 2017 to 31.6% in 2018.
The share of households in Knox County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 31.9%
Low on the chart: 27.4% 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, Knox County, Kentucky.
How Knox County has changed
Knox County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29,657, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 31,920 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Knox County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Knox County rose most sharply from its first year (6,094 in 1990) to 7,188 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Knox County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 8,603 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Knox County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 40.1% | 2024 30.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,017 | 2024 $40,065 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.9% 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 Knox County's history
1799
Created December 19, 1799, from portions of Lincoln County. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 31,883. The 2020 Census counted 30,193, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flash flood in June 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in June 2011 did $3,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in February 2020 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
36 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Knox County, 26 of them for flooding. FEMA
Knox County beside its neighbors
Knox County scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Knox County ranks 3rd of the five; Clay County is highest, at 56.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County, KY | 99 | 30.7% | 49.2% |
| Bell County, KY | 98 | 31.8% | 56.0% |
| Clay County, KY | 98 | 33.6% | 56.5% |
| Whitley County, KY | 92 | 25.5% | 47.6% |
| Laurel County, KY | 90 | 17.8% | 35.7% |
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 Knox County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Knox County's poverty rate was 30.7% in 2024, 8th 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, Knox County ranks 1st of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Knox 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 1,010 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.
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 Knox County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.