New report shows Kentucky has high percentage of residents struggling with independent living

By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today

Kentucky is one of the U.S. states facing the highest levels of independent living difficulty in 2025, according to a new study, ranking second overall, with 3.2 percent of residents having self-care difficulty and 6.1 percent having independent living difficulty.

The world spent the last couple of weeks celebrating the holidays. However, the study found there are also many people around the U.S., including over 400,000 in Kentucky, who struggle during this time, as living alone can be tough.

Estate planning attorneys, Rhodium Law, analyzed United States Census Bureau data from 2023 on the percentage of residents with “self-care difficulty” and “independent living difficulty” for each state. Each of these values was given a score from zero to ten to calculate an overall score out of 100 for every state, representing which states have residents with the highest levels of independent living difficulty.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “self-care difficulty” means “because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition lasting six months or more, the person has difficulty dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home.” Independent living difficulty means “because of a physical, mental, or emotional problem, having difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping.”

Overall, West Virginia had the highest level of independent living difficulty in the U.S., with a score of 100 in the study, but Kentucky was not too far behind, with a score of 70 out of 100. A total of 144,148 Bluegrass State residents have self-care difficulty and 269,355 have independent living difficulty.

The rest of the top ten states were, in order: Arkansas, New Mexico, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

Andrew C. Goodwin, Principal Attorney at Rhodium Law, said, “In the U.S., 7.7 percent of adults have an independent living disability with difficulty doing errands alone and 5.5 percent have a self-care disability with difficulty dressing or bathing, with both of these disabilities more common among older Americans.”

He concluded, “It is essential for policymakers to be aware of the states with the highest levels of independent living difficulty, so resources and funding can be allocated for housing, social support and healthcare, especially during periods when people may feel alone and without support.”