About one in five people in Rowan County, Kentucky, lives below the poverty line
In Rowan County, 20.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rowan County's score
In Rowan County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 75.8. About one in three people with a credit file (34.2%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 84% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 75.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rowan 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.
Rowan County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (6.1%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (20.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.2% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people172.1 · 202567th percentile
-
- 75.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.7% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
-
- 73.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.8% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.5% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability20.1% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,174 · 202482nd percentile
-
- 65.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202684th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.2% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
-
- 54.6 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 rent18.7% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
-
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 Rowan 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 Rowan County, 15.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rowan County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rowan County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 40% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Rowan County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rowan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.9% in 2011 to 20.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Rowan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 15.8% 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, Rowan County, Kentucky.
How Rowan County has changed
Rowan County's population rose by about half to 24,675, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 19,536. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rowan County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rowan County rose by about half to 10,626, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 8,974. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rowan County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.2% | 2025 5.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.9% | 2024 20.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,450 | 2024 $55,174 |
The table uses 5.6% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 Rowan County's history
1856
Created in May 1856, seceding from Morgan County and Fleming County. Wikipedia
2000
Lightning in August 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in September 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 24,662, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A flash flood in May 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1978
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rowan County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rowan County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Rowan County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rowan County ranks 7th of the eight; Elliott County is highest, at 52.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, KY | 91 | 25.3% | 43.9% |
| Carter County, KY | 91 | 18.9% | 43.5% |
| Menifee County, KY | 90 | 23.6% | 46.6% |
| Lewis County, KY | 82 | 22.2% | 43.8% |
| Rowan County, KY | 82 | 20.8% | 36.4% |
| Bath County, KY | 82 | 22.6% | 39.6% |
| Elliott County, KY | 81 | 28.3% | 52.7% |
| Fleming County, KY | 74 | 16.5% | 34.5% |
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 Rowan County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Rowan County's poverty rate was 20.8% in 2024, 35th 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, Rowan County ranks 42nd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rowan 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.
-
Frontier Housing, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
Legal aid
-
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 Rowan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.