In Wolfe County, Kentucky, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2002
In 2024, 56 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 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wolfe County's score
In Wolfe County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 8.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 77.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wolfe 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.
Wolfe County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (2.9%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working51.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 77.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line26.1% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line37.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability29.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance2.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,554 · 2024top 5%
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- 72.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.1% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 72.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.6% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people191 · 202572nd percentile
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- 65.3 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.5% · fiscal year 202780th 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 Wolfe 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 Wolfe County, 19.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wolfe County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wolfe County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Kentucky
In Wolfe County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 55.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wolfe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 40.7% in 2018 to 35.5% in 2019.
The share of households in Wolfe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 36.5%
Low on the chart: 33.2% 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, Wolfe County, Kentucky.
How Wolfe County has changed
Wolfe County's population had its largest rise, from 6,095 in 1974 to 6,738 in 1979.
Wolfe County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 7,351 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wolfe County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wolfe County doubled to 1,594, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 1,425. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wolfe County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.0% | 2025 8.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 38.0% | 2024 26.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,713 | 2024 $44,554 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Wolfe County's history
1860
Formed on March 5, 1860, from portions of Breathitt County, Morgan County, Owsley County and Powell County. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 9,997. The 2020 Census counted 6,562, 66% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A flash flood in June 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Hail in March 2012 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
34 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wolfe County, 23 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wolfe County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wolfe County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wolfe County ranks 3rd of the seven; Lee County is highest, at 57.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magoffin County, KY | 99 | 30.1% | 53.5% |
| Lee County, KY | 96 | 29.6% | 57.7% |
| Powell County, KY | 94 | 20.8% | 42.2% |
| Wolfe County, KY | 91 | 26.1% | 55.5% |
| Morgan County, KY | 91 | 25.3% | 43.9% |
| Breathitt County, KY | 91 | 35.5% | 57.6% |
| Menifee County, KY | 90 | 23.6% | 46.6% |
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 Wolfe County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Wolfe County's poverty rate was 26.1% in 2024, 15th 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, Wolfe County ranks 23rd of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wolfe 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 Wolfe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.