Shelby County, Kentucky

County Distress Index: Healthy · 32.4 | 49,515 people · 117th most distressed in Kentucky

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Shelby County, KY ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 32.4 — 2783rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where debt and delinquency levels sit above the national average. Within Kentucky, it ranks 117th of 120 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Shelby County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 46.1 — above the national median.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 46.1
Debt in Collections 43
Medical Debt 72
Student Loan Delinquency 13
Auto Loan Delinquency 37
Credit Card Delinquency 34
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 79
Housing Cost Burden 36.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 30
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 19
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 62
Homeownership Rate 52
Rent-to-Income Ratio 18
Employment & Wages 31.6
Unemployment Rate 16
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 50
Business Formation Rate 29
Community Vulnerability 24.9
Uninsured Rate 31
Disability Rate 19
Income & Poverty 22.9
Poverty Rate 34
Income vs. State Median 7
Child Poverty Rate 27

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Shelby County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Shelby County
Shelby County, KY 32.4 Healthy
Henry County, KY 56.6 Elevated +24.3
Jefferson County, KY 47.7 Normal +15.4
Franklin County, KY 42.7 Normal +10.4
Anderson County, KY 41.2 Normal +8.8
Spencer County, KY 32.9 Healthy +0.5
Oldham County, KY 15.1 Healthy -17.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Shelby County
Brown County, SD 32.4 Healthy -0.0
Cherokee County, IA 32.4 Healthy +0.0
Buffalo County, WI 32.3 Healthy -0.1
Oneida County, WI 32.2 Healthy -0.2
Franklin County, IN 32.2 Healthy -0.2

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