In Perry County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2016
In 2024, 50 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 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Perry County's score
In Perry County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 91.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 541.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 82.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Perry 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.
Perry County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (2.4%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (4.2%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.8% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people541.8 · 202598th percentile
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- 82.8 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 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working34.2% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
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- 76.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.5% · 202495th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.4% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability30.9% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- People without health insurance2.4% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,945 · 202496th percentile
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- 69.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.5% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.3% · second quarter of 202695th percentile
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- 61.0 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.0% · fiscal year 202790th 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 Perry 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 Perry County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Perry County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Perry County had its largest rise, from 36.2% in 2009 to 42.2% in 2014.
In Perry County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Perry County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 49.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Perry County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 28.5% in 2019 to 23.9% in 2020.
The share of households in Perry County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 28.6%
Low on the chart: 23.9% 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, Perry County, Kentucky.
How Perry County has changed
Perry County's population had its largest rise, from 29,197 in 1974 to 33,876 in 1979.
Perry County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 33,876 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Perry County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Perry County had its largest rise, from 12,051 in 2000 to 13,487 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Perry County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 13,487 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Perry County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.5% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.9% | 2024 24.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,438 | 2024 $44,945 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Perry County's history
1820
Founded in 1820 from portions of Floyd and Clay counties. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 47,828. The 2020 Census counted 28,473, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
1964
Coal miners strike referenced in 1964. Wikipedia
2022
2022 Appalachian floods in Perry County. Wikipedia
2022
A flash flood in July 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A flash flood in July 2022 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
47 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Perry County, 35 of them for flooding. FEMA
Perry County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Perry County, four score higher. Of the group, Perry County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Owsley County gets the largest, at 65.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, KY | 98 | 33.6% | 56.5% |
| Harlan County, KY | 97 | 29.4% | 59.0% |
| Owsley County, KY | 95 | 34.6% | 65.1% |
| Knott County, KY | 93 | 25.9% | 54.2% |
| Leslie County, KY | 91 | 31.2% | 58.6% |
| Perry County, KY | 91 | 24.5% | 49.9% |
| Breathitt County, KY | 91 | 35.5% | 57.6% |
| Letcher County, KY | 86 | 25.3% | 57.8% |
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 Perry County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Perry County's poverty rate was 24.5% in 2024, 20th 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, Perry County ranks 26th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Perry 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.
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 Perry County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.