About two in five people with a credit file in Berrien County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Berrien County, 40.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Berrien County's score
In Berrien County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 549.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 82.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Berrien 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.
Berrien County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.3% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people549.3 · 2025top 5%
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- 82.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.0% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.5% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability18.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance14.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,062 · 202484th percentile
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- 64.6 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 behind4.4% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.0% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 47.7 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 rent14.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 47.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.7% · 2020 to 202480th 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 Berrien 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 Berrien County, 17.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Berrien County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Berrien County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Berrien County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Berrien County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.8% in 2009 to 19.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Berrien County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 23.5%
High on the chart: 25.2% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Berrien County, Georgia.
How Berrien County has changed
Berrien County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 17,399 in 2004 to 19,067 in 2009.
Berrien County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18,666
High on the chart: 19,067 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Berrien County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Berrien County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 5,030 in 2005 to 3,892 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Berrien County fell 17% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 3,377 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Berrien County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.6% | 2024 18.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,597 | 2024 $54,062 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Berrien County's history
1856
Created February 25, 1856, out of portions of Coffee, Irwin and Lowndes counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 22,772. The 2020 Census counted 18,160, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
1918
Berrien County lost disproportionate number of men in World War I, 25 killed off Scotland coast. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in May 1952 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in January 2017 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Berrien County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Berrien County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Berrien County, five score higher. Of the group, Berrien County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowndes County, GA | 90 | 18.1% | 26.3% |
| Cook County, GA | 89 | 16.6% | 32.7% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Lanier County, GA | 88 | 17.3% | 32.4% |
| Atkinson County, GA | 87 | 28.3% | 29.9% |
| Tift County, GA | 79 | 19.3% | 27.0% |
| Berrien County, GA | 79 | 18.0% | 33.2% |
| 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 Berrien County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Berrien County's poverty rate was 18.0% in 2024, 72nd 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, Berrien County ranks 91st of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Berrien 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 Berrien 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 Berrien County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.