Unemployment in Columbia County, Florida, is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties
In Columbia County, 5.5% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Columbia County's score
In Columbia County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 79.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.4%, August 2025, higher than in 85% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 76.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Columbia 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.
Columbia County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (120.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.4% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.8% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 76.7 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 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 75.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.0% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.8% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability21.2% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance12.6% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,511 · 202462nd percentile
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- 66.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.8% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people120.4 · 202547th percentile
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- 65.3 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 rent19.9% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th 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 Columbia 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 Columbia County, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Columbia County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Columbia County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 32.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Columbia County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.8%; 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 Columbia County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 20.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 17.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Columbia County, Florida.
How Columbia County has changed
Columbia County's population tripled to 73,977, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 55,445. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Columbia County, Florida.
The number of jobs located in Columbia County had its largest rise, from 13,706 in 1990 to 16,524 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Columbia County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 24,847, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 21,386. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Columbia County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.4% | 2024 16.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,685 | 2024 $62,511 |
The table uses 4.7% 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 Columbia County's history
1832
Formed in 1832 from Duval and Alachua counties. Wikipedia
1996
Lightning in July 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Lightning in June 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in March 2008 did $4 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in January 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 69,698, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Columbia County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Columbia County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Columbia County, in Florida and Georgia, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Columbia County ranks 5th of the nine; Hamilton County is highest, at 42.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, FL | 98 | 25.3% | 42.3% |
| Clinch County, GA | 89 | 22.0% | 35.8% |
| Columbia County, FL | 87 | 16.0% | 32.8% |
| Suwannee County, FL | 86 | 18.8% | 35.2% |
| Union County, FL | 78 | 18.2% | 35.2% |
| Gilchrist County, FL | 75 | 14.1% | 30.6% |
| Alachua County, FL | 68 | 22.9% | 20.1% |
| Echols County, GA | 64 | 22.2% | 24.1% |
| 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 Columbia County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Columbia County's poverty rate was 16.0% in 2024, 24th 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, Columbia County ranks 21st of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Columbia 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 Columbia 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 Columbia County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.