In Meade County, Kentucky, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Meade County, 16.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Meade County's score
In Meade County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 72.7. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 16.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Meade 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.
Even so, Meade County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (288.7, 2025) and people with a disability (19.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.6% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people288.7 · 202589th percentile
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- 65.5 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 working21.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
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- 56.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.6% · second quarter of 202658th percentile
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- 32.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.5% · 202415th percentile
- People with a disability19.6% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,163 · 202427th percentile
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- 16.2 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 income16.6% · fiscal year 202710th 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 Meade 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 Meade County, 15.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Meade County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Meade County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about six times its 1969 level, reaching 23.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Meade County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income grew to about six times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 23.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Meade County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.0% in 2013 to 15.2% in 2014.
The share of households in Meade County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.0% 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, Meade County, Kentucky.
How Meade County has changed
Meade County's population had its largest rise, from 26,027 in 1999 to 29,600 in 2004.
Meade County's population nearly doubled to 30,442, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 30,442 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Meade County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Meade County doubled to 5,372, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 5,372. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Meade County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.2% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,303 | 2024 $76,163 |
The table uses 4.7% 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 Meade County's history
1863
Civil War crossing at Brandenburg July 1863, General John Hunt Morgan raid into Indiana. Wikipedia
1974
F5 tornado Super Outbreak April 3, 1974 killed 31, injured 270 in Brandenburg. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 31 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in February 2008 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 30,003, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Meade County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Meade County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Meade County, in Kentucky and Indiana, three score higher. Of the group, Meade County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Crawford County gets the largest, at 36.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breckinridge County, KY | 73 | 18.3% | 35.6% |
| Crawford County, IN | 69 | 16.4% | 36.0% |
| Hardin County, KY | 66 | 12.7% | 27.1% |
| Meade County, KY | 47 | 9.8% | 23.3% |
| Perry County, IN | 40 | 13.9% | 30.2% |
| Harrison County, IN | 23 | 8.9% | 23.8% |
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 Meade County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Meade County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 112th 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, Meade County ranks 108th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Meade 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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Legal Aid Society
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 Meade County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.