Benefit checks make up 42 cents of every dollar of income in Pulaski County, Kentucky
In Pulaski County, 42.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pulaski County's score
In Pulaski County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 332.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 78.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pulaski 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.
Pulaski County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (6.1%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.6% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people332.4 · 202593rd percentile
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- 78.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.1% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 73.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.1% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.0% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability23.2% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,318 · 202479th percentile
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- 58.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.2% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 56.5 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 rent22.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202738th 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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pulaski County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pulaski County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 42.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Pulaski County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.6% in 2011 to 19.7% in 2012.
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 14.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pulaski County, Kentucky.
How Pulaski County has changed
Pulaski County's population had its largest rise, from 40,287 in 1974 to 46,326 in 1979.
Pulaski County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 66,842, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 63,714. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pulaski County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pulaski County rose by about half to 26,767, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 24,674. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pulaski County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.1% | 2024 20.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,289 | 2024 $56,318 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Pulaski County's history
1798
Founded in December 1798 from land given by Lincoln and Green Counties. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Hail in May 2002 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 65,034, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A tornado in May 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pulaski County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pulaski County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Pulaski County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pulaski County ranks 5th of the eight; McCreary County is highest, at 58.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCreary County, KY | 99 | 36.4% | 58.2% |
| Wayne County, KY | 95 | 28.8% | 48.6% |
| Rockcastle County, KY | 94 | 21.8% | 43.3% |
| Laurel County, KY | 90 | 17.8% | 35.7% |
| Casey County, KY | 89 | 18.8% | 42.3% |
| Pulaski County, KY | 83 | 20.1% | 42.1% |
| Russell County, KY | 81 | 18.8% | 31.1% |
| Lincoln County, KY | 77 | 17.3% | 37.5% |
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 Pulaski County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Pulaski County's poverty rate was 20.1% in 2024, 37th 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, Pulaski County ranks 38th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pulaski 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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.