In Woodford County, Kentucky, benefit checks make up only 19 cents of every dollar of income
In Woodford County, 18.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Woodford County's score
In Woodford County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 50.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 20.2. The typical household earns $89,773 a year (2024), more than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Woodford 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.
Woodford County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.8% · August 202537th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people161.4 · 202563rd percentile
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- 28.1 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 rent13.6% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.9% · fiscal year 202731st percentile
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- 22.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 21.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.3% · second quarter of 202626th percentile
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- 20.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.7% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.2% · 202418th percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$89,773 · 202411th 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 Woodford 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 Woodford County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Woodford County
Kentucky
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Woodford County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 18.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Woodford County, Kentucky, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Woodford County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.7% in 2010 to 9.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Woodford 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: 5.1% 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, Woodford County, Kentucky.
How Woodford County has changed
Woodford County's population had its largest rise, from 14,188 in 1969 to 16,191 in 1974.
Woodford County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27,728, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 18,283. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Woodford County, Kentucky.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Woodford County rose 17% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 10,015 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Woodford County, Kentucky.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.9% | 2024 9.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $33,266 | 2024 $89,773 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Woodford County's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 26,871, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1978
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Woodford County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Woodford County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Woodford County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Woodford County ranks 4th of the seven; Mercer County is highest, at 29.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, KY | 59 | 12.3% | 28.9% |
| Mercer County, KY | 55 | 12.2% | 29.2% |
| Fayette County, KY | 53 | 12.7% | 16.2% |
| Anderson County, KY | 50 | 9.5% | 23.7% |
| Jessamine County, KY | 49 | 12.6% | 17.9% |
| Scott County, KY | 27 | 8.8% | 16.3% |
| Woodford County, KY | 15 | 9.7% | 18.6% |
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 Woodford County the poorest county in Kentucky?
No, Woodford County's poverty rate was 9.7% in 2024, 114th 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, Woodford County ranks 119th of 120 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Woodford 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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Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
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 Woodford 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 Woodford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.