In Lee County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2008
In 2024, 58 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 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lee County's score
In Lee County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 94.6. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 29.0% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 88.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lee 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.
Lee County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.7%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (123.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent28.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.0% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 88.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.0% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score57.7% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 83.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.7% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
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- 81.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line29.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line35.6% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability27.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,150 · 2024top 5%
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- 63.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.9% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people123.4 · 202548th 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 Lee 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 Lee County, 19.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lee County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lee County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Lee County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 57.7%; 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 Lee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 28.7%
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2021, reaching 33.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lee County, Kentucky.
How Lee County has changed
Lee County's population had its largest rise, from 7,026 in 1974 to 7,886 in 1979.
Lee County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2004 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 7,950 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lee County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Lee County had its largest drop, from 1,839 in 2010 to 1,597 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Lee County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 1,875 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lee County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.5% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 38.0% | 2024 29.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,209 | 2024 $41,150 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Lee County's history
1870
Formed in 1870 from parts of Breathitt, Estill, Owsley and Wolfe counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 11,918. The 2020 Census counted 7,395, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
1961
A tornado in June 1961 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
42 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lee County, 28 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lee County beside its neighbors
Lee County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lee County ranks 2nd of the seven; Owsley County is highest, at 65.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County, KY | 96 | 29.6% | 57.7% |
| Owsley County, KY | 95 | 34.6% | 65.1% |
| Powell County, KY | 94 | 20.8% | 42.2% |
| Jackson County, KY | 94 | 22.0% | 44.0% |
| Estill County, KY | 93 | 21.0% | 44.2% |
| Wolfe County, KY | 91 | 26.1% | 55.5% |
| Breathitt County, KY | 91 | 35.5% | 57.6% |
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 Lee County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Lee County's poverty rate was 29.6% in 2024, 10th 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, Lee County ranks 8th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lee 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 Lee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.