Benefit checks make up 33 cents of every dollar of income in Owen County, Kentucky
In Owen County, 33.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Owen County's score
In Owen County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 76.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 282.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 57.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Owen 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.
Owen County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.0%, fiscal year 2027) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.2%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.9% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people282.9 · 202589th percentile
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- 57.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.5% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 56.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.8% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 53.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability18.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,666 · 202455th percentile
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- 35.0 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 rent16.2% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202731st 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 Owen 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 Owen County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Owen County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Owen County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Owen County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Owen County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.1% in 2019 to 12.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Owen County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 11.7%
Low on the chart: 8.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Owen County, Kentucky.
How Owen County has changed
Owen County's population rose by about half to 11,435, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 10,459. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Owen County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Owen County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 1,702 in 2015 to 1,314 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Owen County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 1,746 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Owen County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.0% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,486 | 2024 $64,666 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Owen County's history
1819
February 6, 1819, the 63rd county formed from Franklin, Scott, Gallatin, and Pendleton Counties. Wikipedia
1875
Deputy U.S. Marshall Willis Russell suppressed Ku Klux Klan chapter 1870s, murdered 1875. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,553. The 2020 Census counted 11,278, 64% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $2.1 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in May 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flood in March 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Owen County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Owen County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Owen County, five score higher. Of the group, Owen County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallatin County, KY | 76 | 12.6% | 27.8% |
| Carroll County, KY | 75 | 17.3% | 30.0% |
| Henry County, KY | 74 | 15.1% | 28.2% |
| Grant County, KY | 61 | 13.5% | 29.6% |
| Franklin County, KY | 59 | 12.3% | 28.9% |
| Owen County, KY | 58 | 13.9% | 33.3% |
| Scott County, KY | 27 | 8.8% | 16.3% |
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 Owen County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Owen County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 91st 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, Owen County ranks 98th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Owen 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.
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 Owen County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.