About one in three people with a credit file in Simpson County, Kentucky, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Simpson County, 32.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Simpson County's score
In Simpson County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 89.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 440.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 64.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Simpson 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.
Simpson County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.0%, fiscal year 2027) and people with a disability (15.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.6% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people440.7 · 202597th percentile
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- 64.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.3% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
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- 59.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 58.1 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 income20.0% · fiscal year 202741st percentile
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- 55.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.6% · 202461st percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.2% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,496 · 202447th 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 Simpson 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 Simpson County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Simpson County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Simpson County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Simpson County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Simpson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.7% in 2015 to 12.8% in 2016.
The share of households in Simpson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.4% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Simpson County, Kentucky.
How Simpson County has changed
Simpson County's population rose by more than half to 20,350, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 14,282. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Simpson County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Simpson County rose 37% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 9,304. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Simpson County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,698 | 2024 $67,496 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Simpson County's history
1819
Simpson County was established in 1819 from Allen, Logan, and Warren Counties. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in May 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flood in February 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in March 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 19,594, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Simpson County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Simpson County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Simpson County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Simpson County ranks 3rd of the six; Allen County is highest, at 33.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan County, KY | 79 | 17.7% | 32.9% |
| Simpson County, KY | 75 | 14.6% | 28.7% |
| Allen County, KY | 67 | 14.3% | 33.8% |
| Warren County, KY | 67 | 15.3% | 23.3% |
| Robertson County, TN | 49 | 9.2% | 20.0% |
| Sumner County, TN | 32 | 8.3% | 15.7% |
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 Simpson County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Simpson County's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2024, 83rd 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, Simpson County ranks 60th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Simpson 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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Kentucky 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 Simpson 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 Simpson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.