Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Monroe County, Kentucky
In Monroe County, 39.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 77.3. The typical household earns $48,686 a year (2024), less than in 93% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 63.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monroe 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.
Monroe County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (70.8, 2025) and people without health insurance (6.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.0% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.9% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability22.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance6.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,686 · 202493rd percentile
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- 63.4 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 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.0% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 60.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.6% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 49.6 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202766th percentile
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- 42.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.3% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people70.8 · 202519th 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monroe County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Monroe County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 32.3% in 2004 to 41.7% in 2009.
In Monroe County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 39.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Monroe County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 19.1% in 2016 to 15.5% in 2017.
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 15.5%
Low on the chart: 13.8% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Monroe County, Kentucky.
How Monroe County has changed
Monroe County's population fell 4% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 12,576 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monroe County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County had its largest drop, from 4,147 in 1995 to 3,475 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 4,147 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monroe County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.6% | 2024 20.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,457 | 2024 $48,686 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Monroe County's history
1862
John Hunt Morgan first Kentucky raid July 9, 1862. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 14,214. The 2020 Census counted 11,338, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
A tornado in February 2008 did $3.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in December 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monroe County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Monroe County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Monroe County ranks 3rd of the seven; Cumberland County is highest, at 47.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, TN | 84 | 19.7% | 34.5% |
| Barren County, KY | 83 | 15.7% | 33.6% |
| Cumberland County, KY | 76 | 19.8% | 47.7% |
| Metcalfe County, KY | 71 | 20.9% | 45.1% |
| Allen County, KY | 67 | 14.3% | 33.8% |
| Macon County, TN | 66 | 16.0% | 27.9% |
| Monroe County, KY | 63 | 20.0% | 39.3% |
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 Monroe County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 20.0% in 2024, 38th 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, Monroe County ranks 89th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.