Clay County, Tennessee

County Distress Index: Serious · 65.8 | 7,714 people · 18th most distressed in Tennessee

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Clay County, TN shows significant household financial distress with a score of 65.8 — 449th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Tennessee, it ranks 18th of 95 counties. Among its 7 neighboring counties, 6 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Clay County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 89.9 — worse than roughly 90% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 89.9
Poverty Rate 89
Income vs. State Median 90
Child Poverty Rate 90
Community Vulnerability 76.3
Uninsured Rate 60
Disability Rate 93
Employment & Wages 67.2
Unemployment Rate 58
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 76
Business Formation Rate 68
Debt & Delinquency 61.7
Debt in Collections 59
Medical Debt 83
Student Loan Delinquency 63
Auto Loan Delinquency 58
Credit Card Delinquency 41
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 66
Housing Cost Burden 34.2
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 6
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 24
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 36
Homeownership Rate 32
Rent-to-Income Ratio 73

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Clay County compares to its 7 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Clay County
Clay County, TN 65.8 Serious
Clinton County, KY 67.3 Serious +1.5
Jackson County, TN 65.1 Serious -0.7
Cumberland County, KY 60.8 Elevated -5.1
Pickett County, TN 60.0 Elevated -5.9
Monroe County, KY 57.8 Elevated -8.1
Macon County, TN 56.3 Elevated -9.5
Overton County, TN 52.1 Elevated -13.7

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Clay County
Hall County, TX 65.8 Serious -0.1
Tyrrell County, NC 65.8 Serious -0.1
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK 65.9 Serious +0.1
Jeff Davis County, TX 65.7 Serious -0.1
Dallas County, AR 66.0 Serious +0.2

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