About one in 13 people in Bryan County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Bryan County, 7.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bryan County's score
In Bryan County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 66.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 15.6. The typical household earns $107,486 a year (2024), more than in 96% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bryan 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.
Bryan County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.3% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people180.9 · 202570th percentile
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- 45.3 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 behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.9% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 45.2 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 rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.7% · fiscal year 202728th percentile
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- 19.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 15.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.5% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.7% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability12.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$107,486 · 20243rd 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 Bryan 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 Bryan County, 10.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bryan County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bryan County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 17.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Bryan County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bryan County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (5.2% in 2009) to 7.5% in 2010.
The share of households in Bryan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 5.2% 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, Bryan County, Georgia.
How Bryan County has changed
Bryan County's population had its largest rise, from 35,523 in 2014 to 43,603 in 2019.
Bryan County's population grew to about eight times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 51,105, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 11,222. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bryan County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Bryan County had its largest rise in the last span, from 8,813 in 2020 to 13,308 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Bryan County grew to about five times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 13,308, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 5,800. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bryan County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 7.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,383 | 2024 $107,486 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Bryan County's history
1793
Created December 19, 1793. Wikipedia
1998
A tornado in April 1998 did $2.2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 44,738, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A tornado in April 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bryan County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bryan County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Bryan County score higher than it does. Of the group, Bryan County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Evans County gets the largest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty County, GA | 91 | 16.0% | 28.4% |
| Evans County, GA | 90 | 22.6% | 30.5% |
| Bulloch County, GA | 80 | 21.5% | 23.8% |
| Chatham County, GA | 79 | 13.9% | 20.2% |
| Effingham County, GA | 45 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
| Bryan County, GA | 29 | 7.5% | 17.5% |
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 Bryan County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Bryan County's poverty rate was 7.5% in 2024, 152nd 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, Bryan County ranks 155th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bryan 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.
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 Bryan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.