In Menifee County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 47 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 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Menifee County's score
In Menifee County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 6.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 84.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Menifee 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.
Menifee County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.0%, August 2025).
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 year6.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working39.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 84.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.3% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people286.4 · 202589th percentile
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- 82.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.6% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.3% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability25.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance6.3% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,808 · 202494th percentile
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- 63.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.4% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 49.7 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 rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202770th 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 Menifee 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 Menifee County, 23.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Menifee County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Menifee County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Menifee County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 46.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Menifee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 25.3% in 2010 to 30.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Menifee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 17.0% 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, Menifee County, Kentucky.
How Menifee County has changed
Menifee County's population had its largest rise, from 5,477 in 1994 to 6,361 in 1999.
Menifee County's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 6,341
High on the chart: 6,597 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Menifee County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Menifee County nearly doubled to 950, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 796. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Menifee County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.2% | 2025 6.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.3% | 2024 23.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,602 | 2024 $47,808 |
The table uses 6.9% for 2025; the score uses 6.4% 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 Menifee County's history
1869
Formed May 29, 1869 from portions of Bath, Montgomery, Morgan, Powell, and Wolfe counties. Wikipedia
1882
Beaver Creek flooded Frenchburg June 27, 1882, destroyed all but three buildings, killed six. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 6,818. The 2020 Census counted 6,113, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
EF3 tornado hit Menifee County March 2, 2012, three killed. Wikipedia
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in July 2021 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Menifee County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Menifee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Menifee County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Menifee County ranks 2nd of the seven; Wolfe County is highest, at 55.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell County, KY | 94 | 20.8% | 42.2% |
| Wolfe County, KY | 91 | 26.1% | 55.5% |
| Morgan County, KY | 91 | 25.3% | 43.9% |
| Menifee County, KY | 90 | 23.6% | 46.6% |
| Rowan County, KY | 82 | 20.8% | 36.4% |
| Bath County, KY | 82 | 22.6% | 39.6% |
| Montgomery County, KY | 71 | 15.5% | 30.1% |
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 Menifee County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Menifee County's poverty rate was 23.6% in 2024, 22nd 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, Menifee County ranks 31st of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Menifee 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 of the Bluegrass
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 Menifee 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 Menifee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.