About one in five people in McLean County, Kentucky, has a disability
In McLean County, 19.7% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 78% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives McLean County's score
In McLean County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 69.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 243 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 61.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in McLean 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.
McLean County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.9%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.3% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people243 · 202584th percentile
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- 61.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 60.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.9% · second quarter of 202655th percentile
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- 58.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.8% · 202469th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.2% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability19.7% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,175 · 202470th percentile
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- 45.4 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 rent12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.7% · fiscal year 202768th 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 McLean 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 McLean County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
McLean County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In McLean County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In McLean County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in McLean County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.5% in 2020 to 11.5% in 2021.
The share of households in McLean County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 10.3%
Low on the chart: 8.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, McLean County, Kentucky.
How McLean County has changed
McLean County's population rose most sharply from its first year (9,086 in 1969) to 9,714 in 1974.
McLean County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 10,211 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, McLean County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in McLean County had its largest rise, from 1,734 in 2010 to 1,994 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in McLean County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 1,994 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, McLean County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.5% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.0% | 2024 15.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,071 | 2024 $60,175 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 McLean County's history
1854
February 6, 1854, from portions of Daviess, Ohio, and Muhlenberg Counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 13,241. The 2020 Census counted 9,152, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A thunderstorm in March 1986 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in January 2002 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered McLean County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
McLean County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border McLean County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, McLean County ranks 4th of the seven; Ohio County is highest, at 38.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkins County, KY | 85 | 19.3% | 33.1% |
| Muhlenberg County, KY | 84 | 19.1% | 37.6% |
| Ohio County, KY | 70 | 15.3% | 38.6% |
| McLean County, KY | 64 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| Henderson County, KY | 63 | 15.7% | 28.2% |
| Webster County, KY | 57 | 16.1% | 31.2% |
| Daviess County, KY | 46 | 14.2% | 28.8% |
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 McLean County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, McLean County's poverty rate was 15.8% in 2024, 71st 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, McLean County ranks 87th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in McLean 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.
Download the CSV for McLean 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 McLean County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.