Benefit checks make up 32 cents of every dollar of income in Larue County, Kentucky
In Larue County, 32.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Larue County's score
In Larue County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 75.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 241.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 65.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Larue 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.
Larue County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (4.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (3.9%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.6% · August 202566th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people241.8 · 202583rd percentile
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- 65.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.9% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 58.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.5% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.2% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 51.9 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 rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.6% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 51.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.6% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,320 · 202460th 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 Larue 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 Larue County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Larue County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Larue County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 32.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Larue County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.3%; 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 Larue County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 14.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Larue County, Kentucky.
How Larue County has changed
Larue County's population rose 42% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 12,459. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Larue County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Larue County rose 29% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,689 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Larue County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.8% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,958 | 2024 $63,320 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Larue County's history
1843
Established on March 4, 1843 from the southeast portion of Hardin County. Wikipedia
1997
A tornado in March 1997 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 14,867, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1970
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Larue County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Larue County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Larue County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Larue County ranks 4th of the seven; Green County is highest, at 42.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor County, KY | 80 | 16.4% | 38.4% |
| Hart County, KY | 75 | 18.0% | 32.4% |
| Green County, KY | 75 | 17.9% | 42.8% |
| Larue County, KY | 67 | 14.1% | 32.3% |
| Hardin County, KY | 66 | 12.7% | 27.1% |
| Marion County, KY | 60 | 16.4% | 32.1% |
| Nelson County, KY | 44 | 11.7% | 23.7% |
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 Larue County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Larue County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 88th 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, Larue County ranks 81st of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Larue 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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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.
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 Larue County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.