Unemployment in Kennebec County, Maine, is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties
In Kennebec County, 3.1% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kennebec County's score
In Kennebec County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 61.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 26.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 38.5 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kennebec 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.
Kennebec 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.
- 61.9 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 35.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,048 · 202430th percentile
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- 34.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
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- 30.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.9% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.2% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 26.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.3% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people38.5 · 20255th 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 Kennebec 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 Kennebec County, 21.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kennebec County
Maine
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kennebec County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Kennebec County, Maine, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kennebec County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.0% in 2011 to 18.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Kennebec 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: 12.8% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kennebec County, Maine.
How Kennebec County has changed
Kennebec County's population rose by about a third to 128,461, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 102,849. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kennebec County, Maine.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kennebec County rose 9% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 62,270 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kennebec County, Maine.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.0% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,852 | 2024 $74,048 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Kennebec County's history
2005
Lightning in June 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flood in April 2007 did $1.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 123,642, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A thunderstorm in June 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kennebec County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kennebec County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Kennebec County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kennebec County ranks 5th of the seven; Somerset County is highest, at 35.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, ME | 56 | 14.5% | 35.3% |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 47 | 12.0% | 26.9% |
| Waldo County, ME | 35 | 11.1% | 28.3% |
| Franklin County, ME | 34 | 13.3% | 31.1% |
| Kennebec County, ME | 28 | 11.2% | 25.5% |
| Sagadahoc County, ME | 11 | 7.8% | 21.3% |
| Lincoln County, ME | 10 | 9.9% | 23.9% |
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 Kennebec County the poorest county in Maine?
No, Kennebec County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 9th highest of 16 in Maine (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Washington County, at 16.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Kennebec County ranks 11th of 16 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kennebec 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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Kennebec Valley Community Action Program
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Pine Tree Legal Assistance
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 Kennebec 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 Kennebec County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.