In Martin County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2013
In 2024, 61 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 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Martin County's score
In Martin County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 8.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 86.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Martin 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.
Martin County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (1.6%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.2%, 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 year8.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working47.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 86.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.6% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people265.4 · 202587th percentile
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- 81.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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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 line33.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line35.7% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability32.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance1.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,950 · 2024top 5%
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- 65.9 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 rent16.2% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.0% · fiscal year 202793rd 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 Martin 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 Martin County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Martin County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Martin County had its largest rise, from 23.1% in 1989 to 30.5% in 1994.
In Martin County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Martin County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 60.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Martin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 29.1% in 2018 to 21.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Martin County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 29.2%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 19.3% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Martin County, Kentucky.
How Martin County has changed
Martin County's population had its largest rise, from 10,937 in 1974 to 13,748 in 1979.
Martin County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 14,045 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Martin County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Martin County fell 43% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2020, reaching 1,922. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Martin County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 9.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.1% | 2024 33.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,526 | 2024 $38,950 |
The table uses 9.1% for 2025; the score uses 8.3% 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 Martin County's history
1964
President Lyndon Johnson visited Inez in 1964 and announced the launch of the War on Poverty. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 13,925. The 2020 Census counted 11,287, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
34 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Martin County, 25 of them for flooding. FEMA
Martin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Martin County, in Kentucky and West Virginia, two score higher. Of the group, Martin County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (60.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floyd County, KY | 97 | 27.7% | 50.9% |
| Mingo County, WV | 96 | 25.7% | 46.1% |
| Pike County, KY | 95 | 22.4% | 44.9% |
| Martin County, KY | 95 | 33.8% | 60.9% |
| Johnson County, KY | 93 | 20.9% | 47.1% |
| Lawrence County, KY | 93 | 23.4% | 47.0% |
| Wayne County, WV | 75 | 14.9% | 30.9% |
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 Martin County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Martin County's poverty rate was 33.8% in 2024, 4th 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, Martin County ranks 11th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Martin 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 Martin 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 Martin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.