About two in five people with a credit file in Brooks County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Brooks County, 42.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brooks County's score
In Brooks County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. Late payments on loans come next, at 92.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brooks 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.
Brooks County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
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 collector42.1% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people369.3 · 2025top 5%
-
- 92.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.9% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.9% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
-
- 86.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.4% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.6% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability18.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance16.1% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,237 · 202492nd percentile
-
- 83.8 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 rent22.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.7% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
-
- 66.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working34.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
-
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 Brooks 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 Brooks County, 22.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brooks County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brooks County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Brooks County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brooks County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.4% in 2011 to 22.2% in 2012.
The share of households in Brooks County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 20.7%
Low on the chart: 13.6% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brooks County, Georgia.
How Brooks County has changed
Brooks County's population had its largest rise, from 14,389 in 1974 to 15,082 in 1979.
Brooks County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16,344
High on the chart: 16,379 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brooks County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Brooks County fell most sharply after its 1995 high, from 3,677 in 1995 to 3,230 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Brooks County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 2,848 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brooks County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 33.5% | 2024 19.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,345 | 2024 $49,237 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Brooks County's history
1858
December 11, 1858, from parts of Lowndes and Thomas counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 24,538. The 2020 Census counted 16,301, 66% of the peak. Census Bureau
2000
Lightning in March 2000 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in January 2017 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brooks County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brooks County beside its neighbors
Brooks County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Georgia and Florida. For the share of income from benefit checks, Brooks County ranks 3rd of the eight; Hamilton County is highest, at 42.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, FL | 98 | 25.3% | 42.3% |
| Brooks County, GA | 98 | 19.4% | 34.3% |
| Madison County, FL | 92 | 19.6% | 36.6% |
| Lowndes County, GA | 90 | 18.1% | 26.3% |
| Cook County, GA | 89 | 16.6% | 32.7% |
| Colquitt County, GA | 86 | 22.2% | 30.9% |
| Thomas County, GA | 84 | 17.3% | 27.1% |
| Jefferson County, FL | 74 | 15.9% | 26.5% |
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 Brooks County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Brooks County's poverty rate was 19.4% in 2024, 63rd 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, Brooks County ranks 9th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brooks 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 Brooks 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 Brooks County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.