In Whitley County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2019
In 2024, 48 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 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Whitley County's score
In Whitley County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 87.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 445.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 80.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Whitley 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.
Whitley County does better than most counties on one measure: people without health insurance (6.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.6% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people445.3 · 202597th percentile
-
- 80.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.5% · 202496th percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.3% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability21.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,936 · 202492nd percentile
-
- 78.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.1% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
-
- 76.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.1% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
-
- 63.4 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 rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
-
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 Whitley 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 Whitley County, 15.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Whitley County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Whitley County rose most from 34.7% in 2004 to 44.1% in 2014, 4.7 points each step.
In Whitley County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2019
In Whitley County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Whitley County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 21.2% in 2019 to 18.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Whitley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 18.5% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Whitley County, Kentucky.
How Whitley County has changed
Whitley County's population rose by about half to 37,233, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 33,135. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Whitley County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Whitley County rose by about half to 14,880, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 14,880. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Whitley County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.3% | 2024 25.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,660 | 2024 $48,936 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Whitley County's history
1818
Created January 17, 1818, from the southwest portion of Knox County. Wikipedia
1926
Fire in 1926 destroyed first consolidated school building. Wikipedia
1931
Whitley County courthouse burned in 1931. Wikipedia
2014
A flash flood in February 2014 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 36,712, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
A flood in February 2020 did $4 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1974
36 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Whitley County, 22 of them for flooding. FEMA
Whitley County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Whitley County, in Kentucky and Tennessee, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Whitley County ranks 4th of the seven; McCreary County is highest, at 58.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County, KY | 99 | 30.7% | 49.2% |
| McCreary County, KY | 99 | 36.4% | 58.2% |
| Bell County, KY | 98 | 31.8% | 56.0% |
| Whitley County, KY | 92 | 25.5% | 47.6% |
| Laurel County, KY | 90 | 17.8% | 35.7% |
| Campbell County, TN | 83 | 18.9% | 34.5% |
| Claiborne County, TN | 78 | 16.4% | 36.9% |
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 Whitley County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Whitley County's poverty rate was 25.5% in 2024, 17th 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, Whitley County ranks 22nd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Whitley 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.
-
AppalReD Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
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 Whitley 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 Whitley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.