About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Todd County, Kentucky, are not working
In Todd County, 29.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Todd County's score
In Todd County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 76.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 240.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 75.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Todd 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.
Todd County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.0%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.5% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people240.1 · 202583rd percentile
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- 75.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.6% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.5% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance20.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,651 · 202474th percentile
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- 63.8 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 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 58.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.0% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 45.2 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202758th 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 Todd 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 Todd County, 17.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Todd County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Todd County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Todd County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Todd County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.2% in 2011 to 16.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Todd County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 10.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Todd County, Kentucky.
How Todd County has changed
Todd County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1979 to 1984, reaching 11,199. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Todd County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Todd County had its largest rise in the last span, from 2,200 in 2020 to 2,941 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Todd County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 2,196 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Todd County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.9% | 2024 16.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,932 | 2024 $58,651 |
The table uses 3.9% 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 Todd County's history
1820
Created April 1, 1820, from portions of Christian and Logan counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 17,371. The 2020 Census counted 12,243, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A thunderstorm in January 1999 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in April 2006 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Todd County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Todd County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Todd County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Todd County ranks 4th of the six; Muhlenberg County is highest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian County, KY | 95 | 17.3% | 28.7% |
| Muhlenberg County, KY | 84 | 19.1% | 37.6% |
| Logan County, KY | 79 | 17.7% | 32.9% |
| Todd County, KY | 73 | 16.6% | 27.2% |
| Montgomery County, TN | 62 | 10.2% | 22.4% |
| Robertson County, TN | 49 | 9.2% | 20.0% |
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 Todd County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Todd County's poverty rate was 16.6% in 2024, 60th 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, Todd County ranks 69th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Todd 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.
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 Todd County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.