Nicholas County, Kentucky

County Distress Index: Elevated · 57.5 | 7,686 people · 50th most distressed in Kentucky
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Nicholas County, KY registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 57.5 — 1042nd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Kentucky, it ranks 50th of 120 counties. It scores higher than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Nicholas County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 72.3 — above the national median.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 72.3
Poverty Rate 74
Income vs. State Median 62
Child Poverty Rate 81
Debt & Delinquency 56.8
Debt in Collections 89
Medical Debt 63
Student Loan Delinquency 7
Auto Loan Delinquency 5
Credit Card Delinquency 90
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 87
Community Vulnerability 53.8
Uninsured Rate 20
Disability Rate 88
Employment & Wages 52.3
Unemployment Rate 30
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 73
Business Formation Rate 53
Housing Cost Burden 52.2
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 26
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 79
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 57
Homeownership Rate 64
Rent-to-Income Ratio 35

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Nicholas County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Nicholas County
Nicholas County, KY 57.5 Elevated —
Fleming County, KY 57.3 Elevated -0.1
Bath County, KY 57.2 Elevated -0.2
Montgomery County, KY 56.0 Elevated -1.5
Robertson County, KY 54.6 Elevated -2.9
Bourbon County, KY 52.7 Elevated -4.8
Harrison County, KY 45.7 Normal -11.7

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Nicholas County
Lincoln County, NV 57.5 Elevated -0.0
Buena Vista city, VA 57.5 Elevated +0.0
Choctaw County, MS 57.5 Elevated +0.1
Niobrara County, WY 57.4 Elevated -0.1
Knox County, TX 57.6 Elevated +0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Nicholas County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Nicholas County

Find an Attorney

Kentucky Bar Association Lawyer Referral offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Kentucky Bar Association Lawyer Referral 502-564-3795

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Nicholas County residents at no cost.

Legal Aid of the Bluegrass 1-800-928-4615
Kentucky Legal Aid 1-866-452-9243
Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky (866) 277-5733
Legal Aid Society (502) 584-1254

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Nicholas County, Kentucky?

    Nicholas County has a County Distress Index score of 57.5 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 1,042nd nationally out of 3,144 counties and 50th in Kentucky out of 120 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Nicholas County?

    The primary driver of distress in Nicholas County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 72.3 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Nicholas County compare to neighboring counties?

    Nicholas County (57.5) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Fleming County, KY (57.3); Bath County, KY (57.2); Montgomery County, KY (56.0).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Nicholas County?

    Nicholas County, Kentucky has a population of approximately 7,686 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.