About one in four people in Campbell County, Tennessee, has a disability
In Campbell County, 25.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Campbell County's score
In Campbell County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 86.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 271 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 81.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Campbell 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.
Campbell County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.2%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.6% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people271 · 202587th percentile
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- 81.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.9% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.2% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability25.9% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- People without health insurance8.7% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,150 · 202484th percentile
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- 71.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.5% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 62.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.1% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 48.0 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.1% · fiscal year 202763rd 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 Campbell 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 Campbell 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
Campbell County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Campbell County had its largest rise, from 27.7% in 1989 to 33.6% in 1994.
In Campbell County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 34.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Campbell County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.5%; 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 Campbell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 19.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Campbell County, Tennessee.
How Campbell County has changed
Campbell County's population had its largest rise, from 29,735 in 1974 to 34,327 in 1979.
Campbell County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40,238
High on the chart: 40,790 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Campbell County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Campbell County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 10,260 in 2005 to 8,484 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Campbell County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 10,260 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Campbell County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.3% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.4% | 2024 18.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,478 | 2024 $54,150 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Campbell County's history
1806
Created 1806. Wikipedia
1812
New Mammoth Cave mined for saltpeter during War of 1812. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 40,716. The 2020 Census counted 39,272, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
A flash flood in June 2019 did $6.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Campbell County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Campbell County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Campbell County, in Tennessee and Kentucky, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Campbell County ranks 5th of the seven; McCreary County is highest, at 58.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCreary County, KY | 99 | 36.4% | 58.2% |
| Whitley County, KY | 92 | 25.5% | 47.6% |
| Scott County, TN | 83 | 17.7% | 41.0% |
| Campbell County, TN | 83 | 18.9% | 34.5% |
| Claiborne County, TN | 78 | 16.4% | 36.9% |
| Union County, TN | 76 | 17.4% | 30.4% |
| Anderson County, TN | 62 | 11.5% | 24.4% |
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 Campbell County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Campbell County's poverty rate was 18.9% in 2024, 13th highest of 95 in Tennessee (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Lake County, at 31.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Campbell County ranks 17th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Campbell 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 Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands
Legal aid
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Tennessee Justice Center
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 Campbell 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 Campbell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.