Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Nicholas County, Kentucky
In Nicholas County, 38.5% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nicholas County's score
In Nicholas County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 87.7. About one in three people with a credit file (36.4%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 88% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 71.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nicholas 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.
Nicholas County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.1%, August 2025) and people without health insurance (3.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.4% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people260.2 · 202586th percentile
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- 71.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.0% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 64.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.7% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability21.8% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance3.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,479 · 202479th percentile
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- 57.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.8% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.6% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 46.5 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th 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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas County, 16.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nicholas County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Nicholas County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 38.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Nicholas County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 38.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nicholas County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.1% in 2014 to 21.6% in 2015.
The share of households in Nicholas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 12.3% 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, Nicholas County, Kentucky.
How Nicholas County has changed
Nicholas County's population rose by about a fifth to 7,816, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 7,325. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nicholas County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Nicholas County fell most sharply after its 1995 high, from 1,625 in 1995 to 1,236 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Nicholas County fell 40% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2015
Low on the chart: 808 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nicholas County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.3% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,889 | 2024 $56,479 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Nicholas County's history
1799
Established in 1799 from land given by Bourbon and Mason counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 11,952. The 2020 Census counted 7,537, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in July 2021 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in July 2021 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flash flood in July 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nicholas County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nicholas County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Nicholas County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Nicholas County ranks 3rd of the six; Robertson County is highest, at 40.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bath County, KY | 82 | 22.6% | 39.6% |
| Bourbon County, KY | 80 | 13.9% | 22.0% |
| Nicholas County, KY | 76 | 16.2% | 38.5% |
| Robertson County, KY | 75 | 17.3% | 40.6% |
| Fleming County, KY | 74 | 16.5% | 34.5% |
| Harrison County, KY | 65 | 15.5% | 30.7% |
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 Nicholas County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Nicholas County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 66th 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, Nicholas County ranks 59th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.