About one in three people with a credit file in Bleckley County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bleckley County, 32.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bleckley County's score
In Bleckley County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 232.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 82% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 76.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bleckley 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.
Bleckley County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people232.7 · 202582nd percentile
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- 76.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.5% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 69.6 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 rent28.4% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th percentile
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- 67.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.6% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.3% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance7.3% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,580 · 202471st percentile
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- 43.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st 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 Bleckley 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 Bleckley County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bleckley County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bleckley County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 31.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Bleckley County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bleckley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.4% in 2015 to 22.4% in 2016.
The share of households in Bleckley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 22.4%
Low on the chart: 12.9% 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, Bleckley County, Georgia.
How Bleckley County has changed
Bleckley County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 12,018 in 2004 to 13,034 in 2009.
Bleckley County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12,626
High on the chart: 13,034 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bleckley County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Bleckley County had its largest drop, from 3,376 in 2010 to 2,585 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Bleckley County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 4,174 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bleckley County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 17.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,248 | 2024 $59,580 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Bleckley County's history
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 13,063. The 2020 Census counted 12,583, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bleckley County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bleckley County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Bleckley County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bleckley County ranks 4th of the six; Twiggs County is highest, at 37.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twiggs County, GA | 97 | 20.1% | 37.4% |
| Laurens County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.8% |
| Dodge County, GA | 87 | 18.2% | 36.6% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 83 | 21.2% | 33.2% |
| Bleckley County, GA | 80 | 17.6% | 31.4% |
| Houston County, GA | 61 | 11.9% | 23.8% |
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 Bleckley County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Bleckley County's poverty rate was 17.6% in 2024, 78th 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, Bleckley County ranks 87th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bleckley 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 Bleckley 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 Bleckley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.