About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Trimble County, Kentucky, are not working
In Trimble County, 27.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Trimble County's score
In Trimble County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 290.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 68.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Trimble 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.
Trimble County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (2.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.8% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people290.5 · 202589th percentile
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- 68.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 46.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.8% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.2% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 37.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.5% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,488 · 202434th percentile
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- 22.1 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 rent8.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th 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 Trimble 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 Trimble County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Trimble County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Trimble County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Trimble County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Trimble County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.6% in 2020 to 10.8% in 2021.
The share of households in Trimble County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 10.8%, with its low point on the chart in 2022
Low on the chart: 9.4% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Trimble County, Kentucky.
How Trimble County has changed
Trimble County's population had its largest rise, from 6,838 in 1994 to 7,983 in 1999.
Trimble County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8,591
High on the chart: 8,855 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Trimble County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Trimble County had its largest rise, from 937 in 2005 to 1,609 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Trimble County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 36% since
High on the chart: 1,609 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Trimble County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.6% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,335 | 2024 $72,488 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Trimble County's history
1837
Founded in 1837. Wikipedia
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 8,809. The 2020 Census counted 8,474, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1978
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Trimble County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Trimble County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Trimble County, in Kentucky and Indiana, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Trimble County ranks 3rd of the six; Carroll County is highest, at 30.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County, KY | 75 | 17.3% | 30.0% |
| Henry County, KY | 74 | 15.1% | 28.2% |
| Trimble County, KY | 53 | 12.5% | 28.5% |
| Clark County, IN | 48 | 10.5% | 22.7% |
| Jefferson County, IN | 48 | 14.2% | 29.7% |
| Oldham County, KY | 4 | 6.0% | 11.3% |
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 Trimble County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Trimble County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 104th 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, Trimble County ranks 102nd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Trimble 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 Trimble 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 Trimble County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.