Lawrence County, Kentucky

County Distress Index: Serious · 68.0 | 16,000 people · 13th most distressed in Kentucky

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Lawrence County, KY shows significant household financial distress with a score of 68.0 — 312th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Kentucky, it ranks 13th of 120 counties. Among its 7 neighboring counties, 6 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Lawrence County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 84.6 — worse than roughly 85% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 84.6
Poverty Rate 88
Income vs. State Median 87
Child Poverty Rate 79
Debt & Delinquency 80.6
Debt in Collections 83
Medical Debt 69
Student Loan Delinquency 92
Auto Loan Delinquency 82
Credit Card Delinquency 75
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 84
Employment & Wages 77.6
Unemployment Rate 88
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 49
Business Formation Rate 95
Community Vulnerability 61.8
Uninsured Rate 30
Disability Rate 94
Housing Cost Burden 35.4
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 35
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 13
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 15
Homeownership Rate 40
Rent-to-Income Ratio 74

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Lawrence County compares to its 7 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Lawrence County
Lawrence County, KY 68.0 Serious
Johnson County, KY 69.1 Serious +1.1
Carter County, KY 67.3 Serious -0.8
Morgan County, KY 65.7 Serious -2.3
Elliott County, KY 65.2 Serious -2.8
Martin County, KY 64.0 Elevated -4.0
Boyd County, KY 59.1 Elevated -8.9
Wayne County, WV 58.8 Elevated -9.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Lawrence County
McDowell County, WV 68.0 Serious -0.0
Cherokee County, OK 68.0 Serious +0.0
Adams County, MS 68.0 Serious +0.0
Poinsett County, AR 68.1 Serious +0.1
Colquitt County, GA 68.1 Serious +0.1

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