Benefit checks make up 43 cents of every dollar of income in Rockcastle County, Kentucky
In Rockcastle County, 43.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rockcastle County's score
In Rockcastle County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 87.4. About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 (32.0%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 92% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 86.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rockcastle 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.
Rockcastle County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (6.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
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- 86.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people327.4 · 202592nd percentile
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- 80.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.8% · 202491st percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.3% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability23.1% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,953 · 202492nd percentile
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- 74.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.2% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
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- 65.9 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 rent20.9% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th 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 Rockcastle 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 Rockcastle County, 19.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rockcastle County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rockcastle County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 43.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Rockcastle County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rockcastle County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 24.4% in 2019 to 21.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Rockcastle County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a fifth from 2009 to 2023, reaching 20.6%, then turned up in 2024
Low on the chart: 20.5% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rockcastle County, Kentucky.
How Rockcastle County has changed
Rockcastle County's population had its largest rise, from 12,906 in 1974 to 14,012 in 1979.
Rockcastle County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16,226
High on the chart: 17,074 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rockcastle County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rockcastle County rose by about a quarter to 3,837, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 3,762. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rockcastle County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.1% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.1% | 2024 21.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,301 | 2024 $48,953 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rockcastle County's history
1810
Founded in 1810. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 17,165. The 2020 Census counted 16,037, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Hail in May 2002 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rockcastle County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rockcastle County beside its neighbors
Rockcastle County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rockcastle County ranks 2nd of the seven; Jackson County is highest, at 44.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, KY | 94 | 22.0% | 44.0% |
| Rockcastle County, KY | 94 | 21.8% | 43.3% |
| Laurel County, KY | 90 | 17.8% | 35.7% |
| Pulaski County, KY | 83 | 20.1% | 42.1% |
| Lincoln County, KY | 77 | 17.3% | 37.5% |
| Madison County, KY | 63 | 16.4% | 25.6% |
| Garrard County, KY | 62 | 14.3% | 30.0% |
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 Rockcastle County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Rockcastle County's poverty rate was 21.8% in 2024, 29th 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, Rockcastle County ranks 17th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rockcastle 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 Rockcastle 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 Rockcastle County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.