About one in three people with a credit file in Baker County, Florida, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Baker County, 33.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Baker County's score
In Baker County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 72.6. People with a credit card behind: 7.5%, August 2025, higher than in 78% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 72.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Baker 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.
Baker County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.0%, fiscal year 2027) and adults 25 to 54 not working (15.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.5% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 72.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.1% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people158.6 · 202562nd percentile
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- 49.4 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 rent24.5% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th percentile
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- 47.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.1% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 46.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.0% · 202448th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.7% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability14.0% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance11.8% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,227 · 202422nd 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 Baker 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 Baker County, 15.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Baker County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Baker County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 26.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Baker County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Baker County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.1% in 2010 to 12.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Baker County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 7.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Baker County, Florida.
How Baker County has changed
Baker County's population tripled to 29,325, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 12,367. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Baker County, Florida.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Baker County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 7,471, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 7,593 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Baker County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.8% | 2024 13.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,409 | 2024 $78,227 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Baker County's history
1864
Battle of Olustee; only major Civil War battle fought in Florida. Wikipedia
1888
Yellow fever epidemic killed most of Macclenny residents. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 28,259, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
36 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Baker County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Baker County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Baker County, in Florida and Georgia, eight score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Baker County ranks 7th of the 10; Ware County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware County, GA | 96 | 23.6% | 40.9% |
| Charlton County, GA | 91 | 20.4% | 34.2% |
| Clinch County, GA | 89 | 22.0% | 35.8% |
| Columbia County, FL | 87 | 16.0% | 32.8% |
| Duval County, FL | 84 | 12.2% | 20.2% |
| Bradford County, FL | 83 | 18.2% | 30.7% |
| Union County, FL | 78 | 18.2% | 35.2% |
| Clay County, FL | 62 | 9.1% | 23.8% |
| Baker County, FL | 61 | 13.0% | 26.8% |
| Nassau County, FL | 48 | 8.7% | 18.5% |
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 Baker County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Baker County's poverty rate was 13.0% in 2024, 35th highest of 67 in Florida (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hamilton County, at 25.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Baker County ranks 53rd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Baker 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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Three Rivers Legal Services
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 Baker County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.