About one in four people in Trigg County, Kentucky, has a disability
In Trigg County, 25.8% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Trigg County's score
In Trigg County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 72.2. Unemployment averaged 4.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 76% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 71.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Trigg 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.
Trigg County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.9% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
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- 71.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.5% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability25.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,717 · 202455th percentile
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- 67.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.9% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people187.9 · 202571st percentile
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- 62.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.0% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 62.1 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 rent17.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.2% · fiscal year 202779th 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 Trigg 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 Trigg County, 22.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Trigg County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Trigg County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 34.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Trigg County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Trigg County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (9.9% in 2009) to 11.6% in 2010.
The share of households in Trigg County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 10.9%
Low on the chart: 9.9% 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, Trigg County, Kentucky.
How Trigg County has changed
Trigg County's population nearly doubled to 14,559, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 12,399. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Trigg County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Trigg County rose most sharply from its first year (2,637 in 1990) to 3,214 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Trigg County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 3,670 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Trigg County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.4% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,439 | 2024 $64,717 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Trigg County's history
1820
Formed in 1820 from portions of Christian County and Caldwell counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 14,539. The 2020 Census counted 14,061, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Trigg County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Trigg County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Trigg County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Trigg County ranks 3rd of the seven; Caldwell County is highest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian County, KY | 95 | 17.3% | 28.7% |
| Trigg County, KY | 78 | 13.9% | 34.0% |
| Caldwell County, KY | 69 | 16.0% | 36.8% |
| Calloway County, KY | 68 | 15.9% | 29.3% |
| Lyon County, KY | 51 | 15.3% | 34.1% |
| Marshall County, KY | 51 | 10.7% | 31.2% |
| Stewart County, TN | 41 | 17.1% | 33.5% |
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 Trigg County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Trigg County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 91st 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, Trigg County ranks 52nd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Trigg 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 Trigg County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.