In Magoffin County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2014
In 2024, 54 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 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Magoffin County's score
In Magoffin County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 8.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 90.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Magoffin 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.
Magoffin County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (3.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working50.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 90.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.0% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people507.7 · 2025top 5%
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- 90.0 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 rent29.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.3% · fiscal year 202784th percentile
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- 81.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.8% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.0% · second quarter of 202687th 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 line30.1% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line36.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability31.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance3.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,039 · 2024top 5%
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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 Magoffin 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 Magoffin 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
Magoffin County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Magoffin County had its largest rise, from 42.3% in 2004 to 49.4% in 2009.
In Magoffin County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Magoffin County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 53.5%; 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 Magoffin County getting SNAP food aid rose to 37.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 37.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Magoffin County, Kentucky.
How Magoffin County has changed
Magoffin County's population had its largest rise, from 11,327 in 1974 to 13,261 in 1979.
Magoffin County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 14,011 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Magoffin County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Magoffin County had its largest rise, from 1,896 in 1990 to 2,262 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Magoffin County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 2,493 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Magoffin County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 15.5% | 2025 8.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 39.1% | 2024 30.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,651 | 2024 $43,039 |
The table uses 8.8% for 2025; the score uses 8.1% 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 Magoffin County's history
1860
Created in 1860 by Kentucky Legislature partitioning parts of Johnson, Floyd, and Morgan Counties. Wikipedia
1890
Oil and gas production, first wells in Eastern Kentucky. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 17,490. The 2020 Census counted 11,637, 67% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
Last active coal mine closed. Wikipedia
2015
Joy Mining Machinery plant closed. Wikipedia
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Since 1967
47 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Magoffin County, 35 of them for flooding. FEMA
Magoffin County beside its neighbors
Magoffin County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Magoffin County ranks 4th of the seven; Breathitt County is highest, at 57.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magoffin County, KY | 99 | 30.1% | 53.5% |
| Floyd County, KY | 97 | 27.7% | 50.9% |
| Knott County, KY | 93 | 25.9% | 54.2% |
| Johnson County, KY | 93 | 20.9% | 47.1% |
| Wolfe County, KY | 91 | 26.1% | 55.5% |
| Morgan County, KY | 91 | 25.3% | 43.9% |
| 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 Magoffin County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Magoffin County's poverty rate was 30.1% in 2024, 9th 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, Magoffin County ranks 3rd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Magoffin 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 Magoffin 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 Magoffin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.