About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Brantley County, Georgia, are not working
In Brantley County, 37.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brantley County's score
In Brantley County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 91.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 342.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 73.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brantley 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.
Brantley County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (9.0%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.7% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people342.4 · 202593rd percentile
-
- 73.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.6% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
-
- 67.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.6% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.8% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability18.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance20.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,966 · 202435th percentile
-
- 54.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working37.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
-
- 40.7 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 rent9.0% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
-
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 Brantley 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 Brantley County, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brantley County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Brantley County had its largest rise, from 24.7% in 2004 to 30.9% in 2009.
In Brantley County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Brantley County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brantley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 22.4% in 2023 to 18.9% in 2024.
The share of households in Brantley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 18.9%
Low on the chart: 13.3% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brantley County, Georgia.
How Brantley County has changed
Brantley County's population tripled to 18,795, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 18,129. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brantley County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Brantley County doubled to 2,707, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 1,927. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brantley County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.4% | 2024 15.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,869 | 2024 $71,966 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Brantley County's history
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 18,411. The 2020 Census counted 18,021, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brantley County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brantley County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Brantley County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Brantley County ranks 3rd of the seven; Ware County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware County, GA | 96 | 23.6% | 40.9% |
| Charlton County, GA | 91 | 20.4% | 34.2% |
| Wayne County, GA | 88 | 18.6% | 32.0% |
| Brantley County, GA | 76 | 15.6% | 33.1% |
| Glynn County, GA | 71 | 13.9% | 22.1% |
| Pierce County, GA | 70 | 17.2% | 32.9% |
| Camden County, GA | 64 | 11.1% | 25.9% |
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 Brantley County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Brantley County's poverty rate was 15.6% in 2024, 92nd 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, Brantley County ranks 96th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brantley 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.
-
Georgia Legal Services Program
Legal aid
-
Georgia Legal Aid
Legal help website
-
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 Brantley 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 Brantley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.