About three in ten people in Atkinson County, Georgia, live below the poverty line
In Atkinson County, 28.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Atkinson County's score
In Atkinson County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 494.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 85.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Atkinson 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.
Atkinson County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (7.7%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.9% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people494.4 · 2025top 5%
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- 85.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.1% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.3% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 83.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line51.4% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance26.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,544 · 202494th percentile
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- 54.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.9% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 46.1 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 rent7.7% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.3% · fiscal year 202784th 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 Atkinson 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 Atkinson County, 14.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Atkinson County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Atkinson County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Atkinson County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Atkinson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 28.7% in 2016 to 21.9% in 2017.
The share of households in Atkinson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 26.2%
Low on the chart: 15.6% 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, Atkinson County, Georgia.
How Atkinson County has changed
Atkinson County's population had its largest rise, from 6,718 in 1994 to 7,575 in 1999.
Atkinson County's population rose 41% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 8,435 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Atkinson County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Atkinson County had its largest rise, from 1,434 in 2010 to 1,997 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Atkinson County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 1,434 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Atkinson County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.7% | 2024 28.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,724 | 2024 $47,544 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Atkinson County's history
1917
Formed in 1917 from parts of Coffee and Clinch counties. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 8,375. The 2020 Census counted 8,286, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Atkinson County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Atkinson County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Atkinson County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Atkinson County ranks 5th of the six; Ware County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware County, GA | 96 | 23.6% | 40.9% |
| Clinch County, GA | 89 | 22.0% | 35.8% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Lanier County, GA | 88 | 17.3% | 32.4% |
| Atkinson County, GA | 87 | 28.3% | 29.9% |
| Berrien County, GA | 79 | 18.0% | 33.2% |
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 Atkinson County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Atkinson County's poverty rate was 28.3% in 2024, 9th 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, Atkinson County ranks 60th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Atkinson 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 Atkinson 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 Atkinson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.