About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Appling County, Georgia, is not working
In Appling County, 32.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Appling County's score
In Appling County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.4. About one in three people with a credit file (32.5%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 80% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 76.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Appling 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.
Appling County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (5.2%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.5% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people205.9 · 202576th percentile
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- 76.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.1% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 76.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.9% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.0% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance16.8% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,345 · 202479th percentile
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- 67.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
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- 31.0 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 rent5.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202757th 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 Appling 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 Appling County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Appling County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Appling County had its largest rise, from 20.0% in 1999 to 25.8% in 2004.
In Appling County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Appling County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Appling County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 19.1% in 2012 to 22.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Appling County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 19.6%
Low on the chart: 11.7% 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, Appling County, Georgia.
How Appling County has changed
Appling County's population rose by about half to 18,669, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 14,546. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Appling County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Appling County rose by about half to 7,777, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 6,197. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Appling County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.8% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.4% | 2024 16.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,475 | 2024 $56,345 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Appling County's history
1818
Established December 15, 1818, the 42nd county created in Georgia, from Creek lands ceded in the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson and the 1818 Treaty of the Creek Agency. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,444, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Appling County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Appling County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Appling County, five score higher. Of the group, Appling County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Toombs County gets the largest, at 33.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, GA | 88 | 18.6% | 32.0% |
| Toombs County, GA | 86 | 22.8% | 33.6% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 83 | 18.7% | 33.1% |
| Bacon County, GA | 80 | 20.7% | 31.7% |
| Tattnall County, GA | 80 | 24.1% | 30.4% |
| Appling County, GA | 76 | 16.9% | 28.3% |
| Pierce County, GA | 70 | 17.2% | 32.9% |
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 Appling County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Appling County's poverty rate was 16.9% in 2024, 84th highest of 159 in Georgia (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Calhoun County, at 36.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Appling County ranks 95th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Appling 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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Georgia Legal Services Program
Legal aid
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Georgia Legal Aid
Legal help website
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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 Appling 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 Appling County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.