In Leslie County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2013
In 2024, 59 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 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Leslie County's score
In Leslie County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 88.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 466.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 87.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Leslie 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.
Leslie County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (2.3%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.6% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people466.3 · 2025top 5%
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- 87.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.1% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 77.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line31.2% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line32.9% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability27.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance2.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$40,363 · 2024top 5%
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- 76.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.4% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 52.1 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 income27.0% · fiscal year 202790th 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 Leslie 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 Leslie County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Leslie County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Leslie County had its largest rise, from 42.0% in 2009 to 49.6% in 2014.
In Leslie County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Leslie County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 58.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Leslie County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 25.5% in 2022 to 30.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Leslie County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 29.1%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 21.9% 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, Leslie County, Kentucky.
How Leslie County has changed
Leslie County's population had its largest rise, from 12,709 in 1974 to 14,885 in 1979.
Leslie County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 15,149 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Leslie County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Leslie County had its largest drop, from 2,828 in 2000 to 2,193 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Leslie County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 58% since
High on the chart: 3,430 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Leslie County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.2% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 34.0% | 2024 31.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,625 | 2024 $40,363 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Leslie County's history
1878
Formed in 1878 from portions of Clay, Harlan, and Perry counties; its county seat Hyden is named for state senator John Hyden, who was one of the commissioners that helped form the county. Wikipedia
1939
Frontier Nursing University opened Hyden 1939. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 15,537. The 2020 Census counted 10,513, 68% of the peak. Census Bureau
1970
Finley Mine explosion December 30, 1970, killed 38 men. Wikipedia
2019
A flood in February 2019 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
37 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Leslie County, 29 of them for flooding. FEMA
Leslie County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Leslie County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Leslie County ranks 2nd of the five; Harlan County is highest, at 59.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell County, KY | 98 | 31.8% | 56.0% |
| Clay County, KY | 98 | 33.6% | 56.5% |
| Harlan County, KY | 97 | 29.4% | 59.0% |
| Leslie County, KY | 91 | 31.2% | 58.6% |
| Perry County, KY | 91 | 24.5% | 49.9% |
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 Leslie County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Leslie County's poverty rate was 31.2% in 2024, 7th 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, Leslie County ranks 25th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Leslie 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 Leslie 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 Leslie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.