Benefit checks make up 38 cents of every dollar of income in Taylor County, Kentucky
In Taylor County, 38.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Taylor County's score
In Taylor County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 79.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 325.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 79.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Taylor 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.
Taylor County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.9%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.3%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.5% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people325.2 · 202592nd percentile
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- 79.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.1% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 74.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.4% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 63.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.4% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.5% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability21.8% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance3.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,626 · 202479th percentile
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- 43.2 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 rent18.5% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th 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 Taylor 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 Taylor County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Taylor County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Taylor County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 38.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Taylor County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 38.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Taylor County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.0% in 2018 to 15.9% in 2019.
The share of households in Taylor County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 13.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Taylor County, Kentucky.
How Taylor County has changed
Taylor County's population rose by more than half to 26,809, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 20,927. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Taylor County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Taylor County had its largest drop, from 10,905 in 1995 to 8,661 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Taylor County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2000, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 8,661 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Taylor County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 16.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,495 | 2024 $56,626 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Taylor County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 26,023, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A tornado in December 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Taylor County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Taylor County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Taylor County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Taylor County ranks 4th of the six; Green County is highest, at 42.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casey County, KY | 89 | 18.8% | 42.3% |
| Taylor County, KY | 80 | 16.4% | 38.4% |
| Adair County, KY | 80 | 21.2% | 39.2% |
| Green County, KY | 75 | 17.9% | 42.8% |
| Larue County, KY | 67 | 14.1% | 32.3% |
| Marion County, KY | 60 | 16.4% | 32.1% |
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 Taylor County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Taylor County's poverty rate was 16.4% in 2024, 63rd 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, Taylor County ranks 48th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Taylor 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 Taylor 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 Taylor County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.