In Calhoun County, Georgia, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2023
In 2024, 45 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calhoun County's score
In Calhoun County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About two in five people with a credit file (41.2%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 80.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calhoun 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.
Calhoun 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 (11.8%, 2020 to 2024).
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 collector41.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people403.2 · 2025top 5%
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- 80.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line36.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line37.3% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability14.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- People without health insurance14.2% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$39,818 · 2024top 5%
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- 78.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind15.4% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score71.6% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 56.5 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 rent11.8% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income30.2% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 53.9 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 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calhoun County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Calhoun County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Georgia
In Calhoun County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 27.5% in 2016 to 31.6% in 2017.
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 34.3%
High on the chart: 36.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Calhoun County, Georgia.
How Calhoun County has changed
Calhoun County's population had its largest rise, from 5,440 in 1994 to 6,176 in 1999.
Calhoun County's population fell 17% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 6,670 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calhoun County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County had its largest drop, from 1,396 in 2010 to 1,079 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 1,605 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calhoun County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.9% | 2024 36.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,302 | 2024 $39,818 |
The table uses 3.1% 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 Calhoun County's history
1854
Created February 20, 1854, from parts of Early and Baker counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 11,334. The 2020 Census counted 5,573, 49% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in February 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1994
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calhoun County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calhoun County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Calhoun County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calhoun County ranks 2nd of the seven; Clay County is highest, at 46.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dougherty County, GA | 99 | 23.6% | 34.8% |
| Terrell County, GA | 99 | 27.3% | 34.3% |
| Early County, GA | 98 | 26.7% | 36.0% |
| Randolph County, GA | 97 | 25.9% | 40.8% |
| Baker County, GA | 93 | 24.1% | 29.9% |
| Clay County, GA | 92 | 25.7% | 46.8% |
| Calhoun County, GA | 87 | 36.8% | 44.7% |
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 Calhoun County the poorest county in Georgia?
Yes, Calhoun County's poverty rate was 36.8% in 2024, the highest of 159 counties in Georgia (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Calhoun County ranks 58th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.