About one in two people with a credit file in Baker County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Baker County, 46.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Baker County's score
In Baker County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. Income and the safety net comes next, at 87.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Baker 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.
Baker County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.4% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people473.9 · 2025top 5%
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- 87.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.1% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line36.7% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance19.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,527 · 202493rd percentile
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- 84.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.2% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 77.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working42.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 48.0 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 rent10.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.8% · fiscal year 202782nd 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 Baker 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 Baker County, 27.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Baker County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Baker County had its largest rise, from 20.7% in 2004 to 27.6% in 2009.
In Baker County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Baker County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled 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 Baker County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.8% in 2021 to 17.2% in 2022.
The share of households in Baker County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 10.8% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Baker County, Georgia.
How Baker County has changed
Baker County's population had its largest drop, from 4,024 in 2004 to 3,560 in 2009.
Baker County's population fell 29% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 4,089 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Baker County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Baker County had its largest drop, from 567 in 2005 to 475 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Baker County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2020, reaching 437, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 632 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Baker County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.9% | 2024 24.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,242 | 2024 $48,527 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Baker County's history
1825
Created December 12, 1825, from the eastern portion of Early County. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 8,298. The 2020 Census counted 2,876, 35% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A tornado in March 2007 did $1.25 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Baker County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Baker County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Baker County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Baker County ranks 6th of the seven; Calhoun County is highest, at 44.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dougherty County, GA | 99 | 23.6% | 34.8% |
| Early County, GA | 98 | 26.7% | 36.0% |
| Mitchell County, GA | 98 | 23.0% | 30.6% |
| Decatur County, GA | 94 | 21.7% | 28.7% |
| Baker County, GA | 93 | 24.1% | 29.9% |
| Miller County, GA | 93 | 20.3% | 33.8% |
| Calhoun County, GA | 87 | 36.8% | 44.7% |
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 Baker County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Baker County's poverty rate was 24.1% in 2024, 23rd 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, Baker County ranks 34th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Baker 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 Baker County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.