About three in ten people in Union County, Kentucky, have a disability
In Union County, 28.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 75.7. People with a car or retail loan behind: 7.6%, August 2025, higher than in 79% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 70.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.8%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.0% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
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- 70.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.3% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people221.3 · 202580th percentile
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- 66.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.2% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.7% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability28.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,745 · 202465th percentile
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- 63.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.2% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
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- 30.5 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 rent14.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.9% · fiscal year 202730th 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 Union 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 Union County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Union County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 34.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Union County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 13.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, Kentucky.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population had its largest rise, from 16,309 in 1974 to 17,959 in 1979.
Union County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 17,959 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Union County had its largest drop, from 6,362 in 2010 to 5,046 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Union County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 5,284, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 4,709 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 18.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,356 | 2024 $61,745 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Union County's history
1811
County created effective January 15, 1811. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 21,326. The 2020 Census counted 13,668, 64% of the peak. Census Bureau
1960
A tornado in June 1960 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flash flood in February 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in May 2025 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1996
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Union County, in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Union County ranks 4th of the seven; Hardin County is highest, at 38.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crittenden County, KY | 73 | 17.5% | 37.0% |
| Union County, KY | 70 | 18.2% | 34.9% |
| Henderson County, KY | 63 | 15.7% | 28.2% |
| Hardin County, IL | 59 | 17.9% | 38.5% |
| Webster County, KY | 57 | 16.1% | 31.2% |
| Gallatin County, IL | 48 | 17.5% | 36.3% |
| Posey County, IN | 13 | 8.6% | 22.9% |
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 Union County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 18.2% in 2024, 47th 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, Union County ranks 76th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.