In Letcher County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2013
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 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Letcher County's score
In Letcher County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 91.2. About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 (37.6%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 97% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 89.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Letcher 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.
Letcher County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.4%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202685th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working37.6% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
-
- 89.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.0% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people572.9 · 202599th percentile
-
- 76.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.3% · 202495th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.5% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability29.8% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- People without health insurance3.4% · 2020 to 20244th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,339 · 202497th percentile
-
- 53.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.9% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
-
- 49.0 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.6% · fiscal year 202781st percentile
-
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 Letcher 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 Letcher County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Letcher County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Letcher County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Letcher County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 57.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Letcher County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 25.4% in 2014 to 28.2% in 2015.
The share of households in Letcher County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 27.5%
Low on the chart: 23.7% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Letcher County, Kentucky.
How Letcher County has changed
Letcher County's population had its largest rise, from 26,470 in 1974 to 30,739 in 1979.
Letcher County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 30,739 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Letcher County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Letcher County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,130, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 6,424 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Letcher County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.5% | 2025 5.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.5% | 2024 25.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,904 | 2024 $44,339 |
The table uses 5.7% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Letcher County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 40,592. The 2020 Census counted 21,548, 53% of the peak. Census Bureau
1983
A tornado in June 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A flash flood in July 2022 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1967
39 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Letcher County, 31 of them for flooding. FEMA
Letcher County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Letcher County, in Kentucky and Virginia, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Letcher County ranks 2nd of the five; Harlan County is highest, at 59.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan County, KY | 97 | 29.4% | 59.0% |
| Pike County, KY | 95 | 22.4% | 44.9% |
| Knott County, KY | 93 | 25.9% | 54.2% |
| Perry County, KY | 91 | 24.5% | 49.9% |
| Letcher County, KY | 86 | 25.3% | 57.8% |
| Wise County, VA | 85 | 19.5% | — |
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 Letcher County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Letcher County's poverty rate was 25.3% in 2024, 18th 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, Letcher County ranks 34th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Letcher 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.
-
AppalReD Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
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 Letcher 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 Letcher County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.