About one in three people in Lyon County, Kentucky, has a disability
In Lyon County, 35.0% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lyon County's score
In Lyon County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 65.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 206.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 76% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 59.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lyon 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.
Lyon County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (16.3%, fiscal year 2027) and adults 25 to 54 not working (14.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.4% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people206.8 · 202576th percentile
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- 59.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.3% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.0% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability35.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,019 · 202449th percentile
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- 56.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.6% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 45.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.9% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
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- 27.5 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 income16.3% · fiscal year 20278th 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 Lyon 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 Lyon County, 24.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lyon County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lyon County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 26.9% in 2004 to 34.5% in 2009.
In Lyon County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Lyon County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lyon County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.2% in 2019 to 16.2% in 2020.
The share of households in Lyon County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lyon County, Kentucky.
How Lyon County has changed
Lyon County's population nearly doubled to 9,078, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 7,538. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lyon County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lyon County rose by about half to 2,596, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 2,110. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lyon County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.0% | 2024 15.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,781 | 2024 $67,019 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Lyon County's history
1854
Formed from Caldwell County, Kentucky in 1854. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 9,423. The 2020 Census counted 8,680, 92% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A tornado in December 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A thunderstorm in July 2022 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1996
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lyon County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lyon County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lyon County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lyon County ranks 4th of the six; Livingston County is highest, at 37.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigg County, KY | 78 | 13.9% | 34.0% |
| Livingston County, KY | 78 | 13.0% | 37.5% |
| Crittenden County, KY | 73 | 17.5% | 37.0% |
| Caldwell County, KY | 69 | 16.0% | 36.8% |
| Lyon County, KY | 51 | 15.3% | 34.1% |
| Marshall County, KY | 51 | 10.7% | 31.2% |
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 Lyon County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Lyon County's poverty rate was 15.3% in 2024, 76th 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, Lyon County ranks 104th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lyon 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 Lyon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.