About one in 13 people in Spencer County, Kentucky, lives below the poverty line
In Spencer County, 7.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Spencer County's score
In Spencer County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 49.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 9.1. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 15.8% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Spencer 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.
Spencer County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 49.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.6% · August 202528th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people180.2 · 202569th percentile
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- 46.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.4% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
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- 38.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.1% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
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- 11.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.5% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.5% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$96,943 · 20246th percentile
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- 9.1 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 rent9.9% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.8% · fiscal year 20276th 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 Spencer 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 Spencer County, 15.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Spencer County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Spencer County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Spencer County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Spencer County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 9.0% in 2015 to 7.3% in 2016; 5.4% in 2018 to 7.1% in 2019.
The share of households in Spencer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.4% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Spencer County, Kentucky.
How Spencer County has changed
Spencer County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size, reaching 20,823, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 14,358. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Spencer County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Spencer County had its largest rise, from 825 in 1990 to 1,192 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Spencer County tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,284, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 1,960. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Spencer County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.4% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 7.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,633 | 2024 $96,943 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Spencer County's history
1824
Formed in January 1824 from portions of Bullitt, Shelby, and Nelson counties. Wikipedia
1996
A tornado in May 1996 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in June 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 19,490, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Spencer County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Spencer County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Spencer County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Spencer County ranks 4th of the six; Anderson County is highest, at 23.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, KY | 69 | 14.6% | 20.1% |
| Anderson County, KY | 50 | 9.5% | 23.7% |
| Nelson County, KY | 44 | 11.7% | 23.7% |
| Bullitt County, KY | 39 | 8.5% | 20.7% |
| Shelby County, KY | 22 | 9.9% | 17.6% |
| Spencer County, KY | 18 | 7.5% | 20.3% |
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 Spencer County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Spencer County's poverty rate was 7.5% in 2024, 118th 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, Spencer County ranks 118th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Spencer 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 Society
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 Spencer 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 Spencer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.