About one in four people in Scott County, Tennessee, has a disability
In Scott County, 25.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scott County's score
In Scott County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.8. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 76.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scott 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.
Scott County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (5.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.7% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.7% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability25.5% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- People without health insurance13.2% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,097 · 202488th percentile
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- 76.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.3% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people216.5 · 202578th percentile
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- 75.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 67.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.3% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 47.3 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.9% · fiscal year 202770th 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 Scott 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 Scott County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scott County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scott County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 41.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Scott County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.0%; 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 Scott County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 22.5%
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 26.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Scott County, Tennessee.
How Scott County has changed
Scott County's population rose by about half to 22,517, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 19,208. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scott County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Scott County had its largest drop, from 6,335 in 2005 to 5,152 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Scott County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 6,335 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scott County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.6% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.9% | 2024 17.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,148 | 2024 $52,097 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Scott County's history
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 22,228. The 2020 Census counted 21,850, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flood in February 2011 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flood in March 2021 did $1.73 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scott County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scott County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Scott County, in Tennessee and Kentucky, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scott County ranks 3rd of the eight; McCreary County is highest, at 58.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCreary County, KY | 99 | 36.4% | 58.2% |
| Wayne County, KY | 95 | 28.8% | 48.6% |
| Scott County, TN | 83 | 17.7% | 41.0% |
| Campbell County, TN | 83 | 18.9% | 34.5% |
| Morgan County, TN | 69 | 16.6% | 30.7% |
| Fentress County, TN | 68 | 19.0% | 39.7% |
| Anderson County, TN | 62 | 11.5% | 24.4% |
| Pickett County, TN | 60 | 15.8% | 37.0% |
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 Scott County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Scott County's poverty rate was 17.7% in 2024, 17th 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, Scott County ranks 16th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scott 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.
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 Scott County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.