About one in three people with a credit file in Bradford County, Florida, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bradford County, 36.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bradford County's score
In Bradford County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 81.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.2%, August 2025, higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 74.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bradford 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.
Bradford County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (14.6%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.8% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.4% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 74.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.2% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.4% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance11.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,527 · 202474th percentile
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- 70.3 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 rent26.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 70.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.5% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people129.2 · 202551st percentile
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- 51.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202687th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.6% · 2020 to 202414th 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 Bradford 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 Bradford County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bradford County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bradford County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Bradford County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bradford County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.5% in 2011 to 18.2% in 2012.
The share of households in Bradford County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 17.3%
Low on the chart: 10.3% 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, Bradford County, Florida.
How Bradford County has changed
Bradford County's population had its largest rise, from 19,242 in 1979 to 22,496 in 1984.
Bradford County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28,075
High on the chart: 28,979 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bradford County, Florida.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bradford County nearly doubled to 9,673, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 9,673. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bradford County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.9% | 2024 18.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,097 | 2024 $58,527 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.5% 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 Bradford County's history
1894
Great Freeze of 1894–1895 devastated citrus farms. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 28,520. The 2020 Census counted 28,303, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A tornado in January 2010 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1998
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bradford County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bradford County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Bradford County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bradford County ranks 3rd of the six; Putnam County is highest, at 39.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam County, FL | 95 | 20.7% | 39.1% |
| Bradford County, FL | 83 | 18.2% | 30.7% |
| Union County, FL | 78 | 18.2% | 35.2% |
| Alachua County, FL | 68 | 22.9% | 20.1% |
| Clay County, FL | 62 | 9.1% | 23.8% |
| Baker County, FL | 61 | 13.0% | 26.8% |
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 Bradford County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Bradford County's poverty rate was 18.2% in 2024, 18th 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, Bradford County ranks 27th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bradford 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.
Download the CSV for Bradford County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Bradford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.