In Scott County, Kentucky, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Scott County, 16.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scott County's score
In Scott County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 66.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 19.6. The typical household earns $93,893 a year (2024), more than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scott 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.
Even so, Scott County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (221, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.0% · August 202553rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people221 · 202579th percentile
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- 38.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.8% · second quarter of 202628th percentile
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- 31.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202639th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 30.6 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 rent16.2% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd percentile
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- 19.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.6% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance4.9% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$93,893 · 20248th 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 Scott 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 Scott County, 13.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scott County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scott County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 16.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Scott County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.3% in 2019 to 7.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 8.6%
Low on the chart: 6.6% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Scott County, Kentucky.
How Scott County has changed
Scott County's population had its largest rise, from 38,051 in 2004 to 46,325 in 2009.
Scott County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 61,700, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 21,754. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scott County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Scott County tripled to 31,432, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 17,140. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scott County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,379 | 2024 $93,893 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Scott County's history
1792
On June 1, 1792, one of two counties formed by dividing Woodford County became Scott County. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 did $1.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 57,155, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A flash flood in February 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scott County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scott County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Scott County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scott County ranks 7th of the eight; Owen County is highest, at 33.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bourbon County, KY | 80 | 13.9% | 22.0% |
| Harrison County, KY | 65 | 15.5% | 30.7% |
| Grant County, KY | 61 | 13.5% | 29.6% |
| Franklin County, KY | 59 | 12.3% | 28.9% |
| Owen County, KY | 58 | 13.9% | 33.3% |
| Fayette County, KY | 53 | 12.7% | 16.2% |
| Scott County, KY | 27 | 8.8% | 16.3% |
| Woodford County, KY | 15 | 9.7% | 18.6% |
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 Scott County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Scott County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 116th 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, Scott County ranks 115th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scott 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 Scott County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.