About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Bacon County, Georgia, is not working
In Bacon County, 32.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bacon County's score
In Bacon County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 87.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 296.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bacon 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.
Bacon County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (2.7%, August 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people296.7 · 202590th percentile
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- 85.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.7% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.4% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance14.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,454 · 202492nd percentile
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- 59.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.9% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 57.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.4% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 51.9 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.3% · fiscal year 202779th 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 Bacon 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 Bacon County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bacon County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bacon County had its largest rise, from 16.8% in 1989 to 22.1% in 1994.
In Bacon County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Bacon County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bacon County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.9% in 2022 to 20.0% in 2023.
The share of households in Bacon County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 12.3% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bacon County, Georgia.
How Bacon County has changed
Bacon County's population had its largest rise, from 10,283 in 2004 to 11,134 in 2009.
Bacon County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11,045
High on the chart: 11,210 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bacon County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bacon County rose 8% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 4,043 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bacon County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.9% | 2024 20.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,142 | 2024 $49,454 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Bacon County's history
2009
A tornado in December 2009 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 11,140, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bacon County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bacon County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Bacon County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bacon County ranks 4th of the six; Ware County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware County, GA | 96 | 23.6% | 40.9% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 83 | 18.7% | 33.1% |
| Bacon County, GA | 80 | 20.7% | 31.7% |
| 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 Bacon County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Bacon County's poverty rate was 20.7% in 2024, 52nd 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, Bacon County ranks 85th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bacon 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.
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 Bacon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.