In Lawrence County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 47 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 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lawrence County's score
In Lawrence County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 6.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 83.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lawrence 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.
Lawrence County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.5%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (5.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working36.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 83.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.3% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people243.8 · 202584th percentile
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- 79.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.8% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.3% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 78.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.4% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.9% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability24.0% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,782 · 2024top 5%
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- 53.1 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 rent10.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.9% · fiscal year 202792nd 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lawrence County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lawrence County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Lawrence County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.0%; 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 Lawrence County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 25.6%, with most of the change between 2020 and 2021
High on the chart: 26.3% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lawrence County, Kentucky.
How Lawrence County has changed
Lawrence County's population had its largest rise, from 11,792 in 1974 to 13,867 in 1979.
Lawrence County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15,798
High on the chart: 16,238 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lawrence County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lawrence County nearly doubled to 3,759, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,086. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lawrence County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.6% | 2025 7.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 31.4% | 2024 23.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,485 | 2024 $41,782 |
The table uses 7.0% for 2025; the score uses 6.7% 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 Lawrence County's history
1821
Established in 1821 from land given by Floyd and Greenup Counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 20,067. The 2020 Census counted 16,293, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in April 2015 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
47 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lawrence County, 35 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lawrence County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Lawrence County, in Kentucky and West Virginia, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lawrence County ranks 4th of the eight; Martin County is highest, at 60.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin County, KY | 95 | 33.8% | 60.9% |
| Johnson County, KY | 93 | 20.9% | 47.1% |
| Lawrence County, KY | 93 | 23.4% | 47.0% |
| Morgan County, KY | 91 | 25.3% | 43.9% |
| Carter County, KY | 91 | 18.9% | 43.5% |
| Boyd County, KY | 88 | 18.0% | 35.7% |
| Elliott County, KY | 81 | 28.3% | 52.7% |
| Wayne County, WV | 75 | 14.9% | 30.9% |
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 Lawrence County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Lawrence County's poverty rate was 23.4% in 2024, 23rd 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, Lawrence County ranks 21st of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lawrence 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.
Download the CSV for Lawrence 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 Lawrence County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.