In Wayne County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2019
In 2024, 49 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wayne County's score
In Wayne County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 93.7. Unemployment averaged 6.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 81.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wayne 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.
Wayne County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (5.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (5.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
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- 81.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.7% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people311.5 · 202592nd percentile
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- 80.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line33.3% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability25.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,853 · 2024top 5%
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- 78.8 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 rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 70.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.1% · second quarter of 202688th 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, 21.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wayne County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wayne County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2019
In Wayne County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 48.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 24.4% in 2017 to 20.9% in 2018.
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 13.8% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wayne County, Kentucky.
How Wayne County has changed
Wayne County's population had its largest rise, from 15,492 in 1974 to 16,923 in 1979.
Wayne County's population rose 37% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 20,793 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wayne County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County rose most sharply from its first year (4,339 in 1990) to 5,324 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 6,307 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wayne County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.0% | 2025 5.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 35.0% | 2024 28.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,657 | 2024 $41,853 |
The table uses 5.9% for 2025; the score uses 6.3% 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 Wayne County's history
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in April 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 20,813. The 2020 Census counted 19,555, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wayne County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wayne County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wayne County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wayne County ranks 3rd of the seven; McCreary County is highest, at 58.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCreary County, KY | 99 | 36.4% | 58.2% |
| Wayne County, KY | 95 | 28.8% | 48.6% |
| Clinton County, KY | 90 | 21.4% | 48.8% |
| Scott County, TN | 83 | 17.7% | 41.0% |
| Pulaski County, KY | 83 | 20.1% | 42.1% |
| Russell County, KY | 81 | 18.8% | 31.1% |
| Pickett County, TN | 60 | 15.8% | 37.0% |
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 Wayne County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Wayne County's poverty rate was 28.8% in 2024, 12th 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, Wayne County ranks 13th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wayne 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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AppalReD 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 Wayne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.