About two in five people with a credit file in Ben Hill County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Ben Hill County, 44.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ben Hill County's score
In Ben Hill County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. Late payments on loans come next, at 94.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ben Hill 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.
Ben Hill County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (11.2%, 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 collector44.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people531.3 · 2025top 5%
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- 94.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score62.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 80.4 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 rent22.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.5% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 77.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.2% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.7% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability11.2% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance19.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,228 · 2024top 5%
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- 63.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th 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 Ben Hill 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 Ben Hill County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ben Hill County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ben Hill County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 35.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Ben Hill County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ben Hill County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 25.2% in 2016 to 19.6% in 2017.
The share of households in Ben Hill County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 21.3%
Low on the chart: 14.9% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ben Hill County, Georgia.
How Ben Hill County has changed
Ben Hill County's population had its largest rise, from 14,300 in 1974 to 15,497 in 1979.
Ben Hill County's population rose 28% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 17,682 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ben Hill County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Ben Hill County had its largest drop, from 8,262 in 2005 to 5,974 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Ben Hill County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 8,465 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ben Hill County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.9% | 2024 22.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,276 | 2024 $47,228 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Ben Hill County's history
1906
Ben Hill County was organized in 1906. It was created from Irwin and Wilcox counties. Wikipedia
1993
A thunderstorm in October 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 17,634. The 2020 Census counted 17,194, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ben Hill County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ben Hill County beside its neighbors
Ben Hill County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ben Hill County ranks 4th of the six; Telfair County is highest, at 43.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hill County, GA | 96 | 22.2% | 35.6% |
| Turner County, GA | 94 | 25.2% | 39.0% |
| Telfair County, GA | 90 | 25.7% | 43.3% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Wilcox County, GA | 80 | 28.4% | 38.8% |
| Irwin County, GA | 74 | 19.0% | 28.3% |
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 Ben Hill County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Ben Hill County's poverty rate was 22.2% in 2024, 38th 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, Ben Hill County ranks 17th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ben Hill 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 Ben Hill 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 Ben Hill County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.