John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
Among all government transfer programs, Medicare was the second smallest contributor. Social Security was the largest, totaling $17.95 billion, equating to $3,977 per capita and making up 30.9% of total transfers.
Medicaid was the second largest contributor in Kentucky in 2022, accounting for $15.27 billion, averaging $3,385 per capita, and represented 26.3% of transfers in the state. Income Maintenance transfers provided another $5.87 billion, averaging $1,300 per capita and comprising 10.1% of government support, making them the smallest contributors.
Statewide, including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $58.17 billion, and accounted for 24.8% of residents’ total income, with an average of $12,890 per resident.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
With 17.4% of the population aged 65 and older, Kentucky has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. The total per capita income in Kentucky, excluding government transfers was $39,030.2, which is noticeably below the county's total income of $51,921, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Kentucky saw an increase in its Medicare transfer dependency by 0.3%, reflecting both rising transfer amounts and stagnating or insufficient other sources of income.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans' income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Kentucky, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 9.8% (or $1,873 per capita) in 1970 to 24.8% (or $12,890 per capita) in 2022, reflecting broader national trends.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 1 | 18.8% | 17.3% | 6% | 4.4% | 4.8% | 1.9% | $12,061 |
| Fayette County | 2 | 15.8% | 14.9% | 5.4% | 3.7% | 3.4% | 1.6% | $9,400 |
| Kenton County | 3 | 14.8% | 15.8% | 5.1% | 3.8% | 3.2% | 1.4% | $10,281 |
| Hardin County | 4 | 24.6% | 15.1% | 6.5% | 5.1% | 4.6% | 2.3% | $12,992 |
| Warren County | 5 | 21.7% | 13.4% | 6.4% | 4.9% | 5.3% | 2.5% | $10,027 |
| Daviess County | 6 | 26.9% | 17.8% | 8.7% | 6.4% | 7% | 2.4% | $13,229 |
| Pulaski County | 7 | 39.9% | 19.8% | 10.1% | 7.6% | 15.4% | 3.4% | $18,381 |
| Boone County | 8 | 14.5% | 14.8% | 5.7% | 4.1% | 1.6% | 1.2% | $8,527 |
| Pike County | 9 | 44.8% | 20.3% | 12.5% | 10.1% | 14.2% | 4.3% | $19,526 |
| Madison County | 10 | 24% | 14.7% | 7.8% | 5.4% | 5% | 2.4% | $10,653 |
| Campbell County | 11 | 17.5% | 17.6% | 6.2% | 4.6% | 3.7% | 1.3% | $10,796 |
| McCracken County | 12 | 24.1% | 20.6% | 8.2% | 5.6% | 5.9% | 2% | $14,020 |
| Christian County | 13 | 27.7% | 12.9% | 6.7% | 5.5% | 7.2% | 3.5% | $11,863 |
| Laurel County | 14 | 33.3% | 17.2% | 9.7% | 6.8% | 10% | 3.9% | $13,437 |
| Bullitt County | 15 | 19.2% | 17.4% | 7.9% | 4.8% | 2.9% | 1.6% | $9,832 |
| Boyd County | 16 | 34.1% | 20.3% | 10.3% | 8.1% | 8.8% | 3.2% | $15,653 |
| Floyd County | 17 | 48.5% | 19.8% | 12.1% | 9.5% | 17.9% | 5.5% | $21,074 |
| Whitley County | 18 | 46.9% | 16% | 9.2% | 11.1% | 15.5% | 5.5% | $19,775 |
| Franklin County | 19 | 27.8% | 18.7% | 9.8% | 8.5% | 4.9% | 2.4% | $13,770 |
| Hopkins County | 20 | 32% | 19.2% | 10.1% | 7.6% | 8% | 3% | $14,987 |
| Henderson County | 21 | 28.8% | 19.4% | 9.5% | 7.2% | 6.9% | 2.7% | $14,061 |
| Barren County | 22 | 31.3% | 18.3% | 9.7% | 7.5% | 8.3% | 3.1% | $13,406 |
| Perry County | 23 | 48.7% | 18.3% | 10.7% | 9.6% | 19.3% | 5.6% | $21,011 |
| Harlan County | 24 | 57.3% | 19.6% | 13.9% | 10.7% | 21.6% | 6.7% | $21,605 |
| Graves County | 25 | 30.1% | 19% | 8.8% | 7.5% | 8.7% | 2.7% | $15,119 |
| Nelson County | 26 | 21.8% | 17.2% | 7.9% | 5.9% | 4% | 2% | $11,610 |
| Greenup County | 27 | 32.5% | 22.2% | 9.8% | 8% | 7.3% | 2.6% | $15,475 |
| Oldham County | 28 | 10.2% | 14.6% | 4.3% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 0.5% | $7,819 |
| Jessamine County | 29 | 16.9% | 16.5% | 6.4% | 4.3% | 2.7% | 1.9% | $9,841 |
| Knox County | 30 | 47.4% | 17.8% | 10.6% | 7.7% | 19.2% | 7.1% | $17,645 |
| Bell County | 31 | 54.2% | 19.9% | 11.8% | 10.5% | 22% | 6.8% | $21,480 |
| Scott County | 32 | 15.2% | 13.1% | 6% | 3.5% | 2.3% | 1.6% | $8,006 |
| Letcher County | 33 | 55.9% | 21% | 14.7% | 11.2% | 20.9% | 5.8% | $21,950 |
| Shelby County | 34 | 16.6% | 17% | 6.7% | 4.3% | 2.5% | 1.5% | $9,361 |
| Clark County | 35 | 25.9% | 18.4% | 9% | 6.1% | 5.9% | 2.7% | $12,304 |
| Marshall County | 36 | 29.5% | 22.7% | 11.4% | 7.6% | 5.6% | 2.1% | $14,279 |
| Muhlenberg County | 37 | 36.9% | 20.4% | 11.7% | 9.2% | 9.3% | 3.4% | $14,844 |
| Calloway County | 38 | 27.1% | 17.3% | 9.3% | 6.7% | 5.3% | 2.1% | $11,910 |
| Carter County | 39 | 41.9% | 19.9% | 11.7% | 9.9% | 12.2% | 4.6% | $16,109 |
| Clay County | 40 | 53.5% | 16% | 10.1% | 10.3% | 23.1% | 7.9% | $20,315 |
| Johnson County | 41 | 45.9% | 19.3% | 12.4% | 9.5% | 15.1% | 5.1% | $18,025 |
| Taylor County | 42 | 36.6% | 18.2% | 10.5% | 9% | 10.2% | 3.6% | $14,555 |
| Grayson County | 43 | 34.4% | 18.5% | 10.3% | 8.7% | 8.8% | 3.5% | $14,287 |
| Boyle County | 44 | 27.2% | 19.2% | 9.4% | 6.7% | 5.9% | 2.6% | $12,309 |
| Logan County | 45 | 30.5% | 18.9% | 9.4% | 7.7% | 7.9% | 2.8% | $13,501 |
| Lincoln County | 46 | 36.3% | 18.6% | 10.3% | 9% | 9.4% | 4.2% | $14,534 |
| Ohio County | 47 | 36.5% | 18.7% | 11.3% | 8.4% | 9.9% | 3.6% | $14,612 |
| Montgomery County | 48 | 28.5% | 16.8% | 9.3% | 6.9% | 6.6% | 3.3% | $12,077 |
| Grant County | 49 | 27.8% | 14.4% | 8.9% | 7.5% | 6% | 3.1% | $12,639 |
| Rowan County | 50 | 35.2% | 15% | 9.4% | 7.7% | 10.4% | 3.8% | $13,151 |
| Wayne County | 51 | 44.2% | 22.3% | 11.7% | 8.7% | 15.5% | 5.5% | $16,268 |
| McCreary County | 52 | 56.1% | 16.5% | 10.3% | 10.4% | 24.3% | 7.4% | $19,100 |
| Meade County | 53 | 21.4% | 15.7% | 7.6% | 4.2% | 3.5% | 2.1% | $10,014 |
| Knott County | 54 | 53% | 20.7% | 11.9% | 10% | 22.2% | 5.9% | $21,583 |
| Woodford County | 55 | 17.2% | 20.8% | 7.6% | 4.7% | 2% | 1.3% | $10,763 |
| Adair County | 56 | 37.5% | 19.7% | 9.6% | 8% | 13.1% | 3.6% | $15,220 |
| Russell County | 57 | 31.4% | 21% | 8.4% | 6.7% | 10.7% | 3.4% | $15,947 |
| Breathitt County | 58 | 56.1% | 18.9% | 11.1% | 9.8% | 25.6% | 7.2% | $21,501 |
| Breckinridge County | 59 | 32.3% | 20.2% | 10.5% | 8.1% | 7.5% | 3.1% | $13,425 |
| Lawrence County | 60 | 45.9% | 19% | 11.9% | 8.9% | 15.8% | 5.2% | $17,406 |
| Mercer County | 61 | 27.6% | 19.1% | 10.3% | 6.8% | 5.5% | 2.6% | $12,210 |
| Allen County | 62 | 30.5% | 18.1% | 9.7% | 7.4% | 7.6% | 3.1% | $12,476 |
| Rockcastle County | 63 | 41.1% | 19.5% | 10.6% | 8.1% | 15.2% | 4.5% | $16,257 |
| Marion County | 64 | 30.2% | 17.4% | 8.6% | 6.8% | 9.7% | 3.2% | $13,172 |
| Casey County | 65 | 40.4% | 20.8% | 10.1% | 9.2% | 14.1% | 4.2% | $15,974 |
| Anderson County | 66 | 22.7% | 16.7% | 8.9% | 6% | 3.4% | 2.1% | $10,338 |
| Hart County | 67 | 31.9% | 17.5% | 9.3% | 6.5% | 9.6% | 3.6% | $12,644 |
| Magoffin County | 68 | 52.8% | 19.1% | 11.8% | 9.1% | 22.8% | 6.8% | $21,818 |
| Bourbon County | 69 | 21% | 20.2% | 7.5% | 5% | 4.8% | 2.2% | $12,035 |
| Harrison County | 70 | 29.2% | 18.6% | 10% | 7.8% | 6.2% | 3% | $12,446 |
| Mason County | 71 | 29% | 19.3% | 9.3% | 7.2% | 6.5% | 3.2% | $13,957 |
| Estill County | 72 | 42.6% | 19.3% | 10.4% | 9.1% | 13.8% | 5.3% | $16,596 |
| Simpson County | 73 | 27% | 17% | 9.4% | 7% | 5.3% | 2.7% | $11,642 |
| Leslie County | 74 | 56% | 19.7% | 13.5% | 10.3% | 23.6% | 6.1% | $21,778 |
| Garrard County | 75 | 28.7% | 19.2% | 9.8% | 7.5% | 5.7% | 3.1% | $12,476 |
| Martin County | 76 | 60.9% | 17.6% | 15.3% | 10.2% | 24.3% | 7.5% | $19,449 |
| Union County | 77 | 33.4% | 20.5% | 10.3% | 7.9% | 9.5% | 2.8% | $16,290 |
| Lewis County | 78 | 42.2% | 19.7% | 9.6% | 10% | 13.8% | 5.3% | $16,131 |
| Henry County | 79 | 26.6% | 18.7% | 8.9% | 7.5% | 5.8% | 2.4% | $13,190 |
| Trigg County | 80 | 32.6% | 23.2% | 11.9% | 8.8% | 4.4% | 2.5% | $14,503 |
| Spencer County | 81 | 18% | 15.8% | 6.6% | 5.2% | 3.2% | 1.2% | $10,099 |
| Jackson County | 82 | 42.6% | 18.3% | 10.4% | 9% | 14.6% | 5.9% | $15,649 |
| Morgan County | 83 | 44.9% | 17.5% | 11.4% | 10.5% | 15.5% | 5.2% | $14,244 |
| Powell County | 84 | 41.1% | 16.5% | 11.3% | 8.2% | 12.9% | 5.6% | $15,353 |
| Fleming County | 85 | 32% | 18.8% | 10.1% | 8% | 8.2% | 3.4% | $12,935 |
| Larue County | 86 | 30% | 17.9% | 9.6% | 6.8% | 7.9% | 2.9% | $12,747 |
| Caldwell County | 87 | 33.8% | 21.3% | 10.5% | 8.5% | 8.8% | 3% | $15,101 |
| Monroe County | 88 | 37% | 19.3% | 8.5% | 9.2% | 13.2% | 3.8% | $16,535 |
| Green County | 89 | 40.1% | 21.4% | 10.2% | 10.5% | 13.5% | 3.5% | $16,310 |
| Bath County | 90 | 38.3% | 17.3% | 10.1% | 9.3% | 11.2% | 4.9% | $14,247 |
| Clinton County | 91 | 45.9% | 20.6% | 9.6% | 9.1% | 19.5% | 5% | $20,000 |
| Butler County | 92 | 34.2% | 19.1% | 10% | 7% | 10.7% | 3.5% | $14,753 |
| Webster County | 93 | 28.8% | 18.5% | 9.9% | 7.1% | 6.7% | 2.6% | $14,213 |
| Pendleton County | 94 | 23.1% | 17.6% | 8.1% | 5.8% | 4.5% | 2.4% | $11,889 |
| Washington County | 95 | 29.8% | 19.3% | 9.4% | 7.2% | 8.5% | 2.7% | $13,470 |
| Metcalfe County | 96 | 42.1% | 19.8% | 11.5% | 9.7% | 13.6% | 4.5% | $15,380 |
| Edmonson County | 97 | 31.5% | 21.4% | 10.6% | 5.6% | 9.2% | 3.1% | $12,539 |
| Wolfe County | 98 | 53.9% | 20% | 10.8% | 9.1% | 24% | 7.4% | $23,604 |
| Todd County | 99 | 25.2% | 16.7% | 7.6% | 5.1% | 7.1% | 2.8% | $11,904 |
| Owen County | 100 | 32.6% | 20.4% | 10.5% | 9.1% | 8% | 3.3% | $12,891 |
| Livingston County | 101 | 35.3% | 22.7% | 12.5% | 9.4% | 7.9% | 2.5% | $16,172 |
| Cumberland County | 102 | 48.1% | 22.8% | 10.2% | 11% | 20.2% | 4% | $23,787 |
| Carroll County | 103 | 27.7% | 16.4% | 8.8% | 5.7% | 8.2% | 3.1% | $12,869 |
| McLean County | 104 | 29.6% | 20.1% | 9.7% | 8% | 7.1% | 2.4% | $15,208 |
| Lee County | 105 | 55% | 19.4% | 11% | 9.9% | 23.7% | 7.1% | $18,993 |
| Crittenden County | 106 | 35.1% | 21.7% | 11.5% | 8.5% | 9.3% | 2.6% | $14,580 |
| Lyon County | 107 | 34.5% | 23.7% | 13.2% | 9.5% | 6.4% | 1.8% | $13,685 |
| Fulton County | 108 | 44.2% | 21.6% | 11.6% | 11.9% | 12.8% | 5% | $18,121 |
| Bracken County | 109 | 30.6% | 18.3% | 10.2% | 7.9% | 6.8% | 3.3% | $13,361 |
| Owsley County | 110 | 63.2% | 20.7% | 8.5% | 11% | 31.8% | 8.4% | $28,538 |
| Menifee County | 111 | 45% | 21.5% | 12.1% | 10.4% | 14.7% | 5.1% | $17,886 |
| Trimble County | 112 | 26.8% | 18.4% | 9.1% | 6.6% | 6.5% | 2.6% | $12,933 |
| Nicholas County | 113 | 35.6% | 16.5% | 9.8% | 7.4% | 12.5% | 3.5% | $14,020 |
| Hancock County | 114 | 22.4% | 18.7% | 8.5% | 6.1% | 3.9% | 2% | $12,094 |
| Ballard County | 115 | 28% | 22.2% | 10.2% | 5.7% | 7.4% | 2.4% | $13,959 |
| Elliott County | 116 | 51.3% | 21.3% | 13.7% | 8.1% | 19.9% | 6.8% | $14,055 |
| Gallatin County | 117 | 26% | 15.4% | 6% | 5.9% | 9.1% | 2.9% | $11,197 |
| Hickman County | 118 | 30.9% | 26.1% | 9.3% | 6.7% | 10.5% | 2.4% | $17,459 |
| Carlisle County | 119 | 26.9% | 20.2% | 9.3% | 6.2% | 6.7% | 2.3% | $14,471 |
| Robertson County | 120 | 37.5% | 23.7% | 9.6% | 7.3% | 14.6% | 3.7% | $14,734 |
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