Lee County, Kentucky

County Distress Index: Serious · 70.7 | 7,293 people · 6th most distressed in Kentucky

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Lee County, KY shows significant household financial distress with a score of 70.7 — 180th 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 6th of 120 counties. It scores higher than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Lee County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 95.0 — worse than roughly 95% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 95.0
Poverty Rate 95
Income vs. State Median 95
Child Poverty Rate 95
Employment & Wages 72.6
Unemployment Rate 67
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 56
Business Formation Rate 95
Housing Cost Burden 68.4
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 75
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 42
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 84
Homeownership Rate 47
Rent-to-Income Ratio 95
Debt & Delinquency 61.8
Debt in Collections 79
Medical Debt 65
Student Loan Delinquency 7
Auto Loan Delinquency 95
Credit Card Delinquency 76
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 49
Community Vulnerability 55.7
Uninsured Rate 16
Disability Rate 95

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

Neighbors and Peers

How Lee County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Lee County
Lee County, KY 70.7 Serious
Wolfe County, KY 69.1 Serious -1.6
Jackson County, KY 69.0 Serious -1.7
Owsley County, KY 67.2 Serious -3.5
Powell County, KY 67.2 Serious -3.5
Estill County, KY 67.0 Serious -3.7
Breathitt County, KY 62.1 Elevated -8.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Lee County
Jefferson County, OK 70.7 Serious +0.0
Hickory County, MO 70.6 Serious -0.1
Real County, TX 70.6 Serious -0.1
Scott County, AR 70.9 Serious +0.2
Montgomery County, AR 70.5 Serious -0.2

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