About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Logan County, Kentucky, are not working
In Logan County, 28.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Logan County's score
In Logan County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 82.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 357.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 79.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Logan 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.
Logan County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.1%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.7% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people357.1 · 202594th percentile
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- 79.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 73.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.7% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.3% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability19.8% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance8.2% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,406 · 202469th percentile
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- 66.2 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 behind5.5% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.1% · second quarter of 202666th percentile
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- 34.8 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 rent17.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202723rd 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 Logan 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 Logan County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Logan County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Logan County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 32.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Logan County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Logan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.2% in 2010 to 16.7% in 2011.
The share of households in Logan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.6% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Logan County, Kentucky.
How Logan County has changed
Logan County's population rose by about a third to 28,467, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 25,317. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Logan County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Logan County had its largest drop, from 9,888 in 2000 to 8,329 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Logan County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 9,888 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Logan County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 17.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,660 | 2024 $60,406 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Logan County's history
1792
September 1, 1792 (created). Wikipedia
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Lightning in August 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A thunderstorm in August 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A tornado in February 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 27,432, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Logan County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Logan County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Logan County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Logan County ranks 3rd of the seven; Muhlenberg County is highest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muhlenberg County, KY | 84 | 19.1% | 37.6% |
| Logan County, KY | 79 | 17.7% | 32.9% |
| Butler County, KY | 78 | 17.4% | 36.3% |
| Simpson County, KY | 75 | 14.6% | 28.7% |
| Todd County, KY | 73 | 16.6% | 27.2% |
| Warren County, KY | 67 | 15.3% | 23.3% |
| Robertson County, TN | 49 | 9.2% | 20.0% |
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 Logan County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Logan County's poverty rate was 17.7% in 2024, 52nd 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, Logan County ranks 51st of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Logan 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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Kentucky 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 Logan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.