About one in four people in Webster County, Kentucky, has a disability
In Webster County, 25.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Webster County's score
In Webster County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 74.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 275 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 71.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Webster 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.
Webster County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (6.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (4.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.0% · August 202560th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people275 · 202588th percentile
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- 71.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
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- 62.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.1% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.2% · 202461st percentile
- People with a disability25.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,750 · 202468th percentile
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- 53.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.2% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 13.0 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 rent6.1% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st 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 Webster 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 Webster County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Webster County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Webster County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 31.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Webster County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.2%; 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 Webster County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 10.9%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 11.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Webster County, Kentucky.
How Webster County has changed
Webster County's population had its largest rise, from 13,912 in 1974 to 14,792 in 1979.
Webster County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 14,867 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Webster County, Kentucky.
The number of jobs located in Webster County had its largest drop, from 4,024 in 2000 to 3,137 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Webster County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2020, reaching 2,705, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 4,335 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Webster County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 16.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,634 | 2024 $60,750 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Webster County's history
1860
Formed in 1860 from parts of Henderson, Hopkins, and Union counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 20,974. The 2020 Census counted 13,017, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
1956
A tornado in April 1956 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in April 2002 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in March 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in October 2007 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Webster County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Webster County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Webster County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Webster County ranks 6th of the seven; Crittenden County is highest, at 37.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkins County, KY | 85 | 19.3% | 33.1% |
| Crittenden County, KY | 73 | 17.5% | 37.0% |
| Union County, KY | 70 | 18.2% | 34.9% |
| Caldwell County, KY | 69 | 16.0% | 36.8% |
| McLean County, KY | 64 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| Henderson County, KY | 63 | 15.7% | 28.2% |
| Webster County, KY | 57 | 16.1% | 31.2% |
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 Webster County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Webster County's poverty rate was 16.1% in 2024, 67th 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, Webster County ranks 99th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Webster 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.
Download the CSV for Webster 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 Webster County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.