About three in ten people with a credit file in Warren County, Kentucky, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Warren County, 28.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 68% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Warren County's score
In Warren County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 278.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 70.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Warren 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.
Warren County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (14.3%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (18.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.1% · August 202568th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people278.4 · 202588th percentile
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- 70.3 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 rent24.5% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
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- 57.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.1% · second quarter of 202649th percentile
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- 49.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.3% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.6% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,824 · 202446th percentile
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- 45.2 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 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.8% · 2020 to 202438th 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 Warren 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 Warren County, 13.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Warren County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Warren County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Warren County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.7% in 2016 to 13.6% in 2017.
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 12.8%
Low on the chart: 10.7% 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, Warren County, Kentucky.
How Warren County has changed
Warren County's population more than doubled to 147,936, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 147,936. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Warren County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Warren County had its largest rise in the last span, from 61,202 in 2020 to 71,839 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Warren County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 71,839, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 61,202. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Warren County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.2% | 2024 15.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,062 | 2024 $67,824 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 Warren County's history
1796
Became the 23rd county of Kentucky in 1796, formed from a section of Logan County. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in March 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Hail in April 1998 did $510 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 134,554, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A tornado in December 2021 killed 16 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Warren County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Warren County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Warren County, five score higher. Of the group, Warren County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Butler County gets the largest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barren County, KY | 83 | 15.7% | 33.6% |
| Logan County, KY | 79 | 17.7% | 32.9% |
| Butler County, KY | 78 | 17.4% | 36.3% |
| Simpson County, KY | 75 | 14.6% | 28.7% |
| Edmonson County, KY | 75 | 14.9% | 33.5% |
| Allen County, KY | 67 | 14.3% | 33.8% |
| Warren County, KY | 67 | 15.3% | 23.3% |
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 Warren County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Warren County's poverty rate was 15.3% in 2024, 76th 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, Warren County ranks 83rd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Warren 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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Housing Assistance and Development Services, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Kentucky Legal Aid
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Warren 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 Warren County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.