About two in five people with a credit file in Candler County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Candler County, 38.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Candler County's score
In Candler County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.0%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 89.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Candler 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.
Candler County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.0% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score57.1% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 89.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.3% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.4% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability20.8% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance15.1% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,754 · 202491st percentile
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- 71.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.6% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people126.6 · 202550th percentile
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- 55.4 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.2% · fiscal year 202779th percentile
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- 44.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.1% · 2020 to 202469th 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 Candler 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 Candler County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Candler County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Candler County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 40% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Candler County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Candler County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 22.5%, with most of the change between 2022 and 2023
High on the chart: 23.6% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Candler County, Georgia.
How Candler County has changed
Candler County's population nearly doubled to 11,130, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 8,682. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Candler County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Candler County had its largest drop, from 3,208 in 2005 to 2,722 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Candler County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,189
High on the chart: 3,209 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Candler County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.6% | 2024 21.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,839 | 2024 $49,754 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Candler County's history
1914
Founded in 1914. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 10,998. The 2020 Census counted 10,981, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Candler County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Candler County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Candler County, two score higher. Of the group, Candler County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (36.5%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evans County, GA | 90 | 22.6% | 30.5% |
| Emanuel County, GA | 88 | 22.1% | 35.3% |
| Candler County, GA | 84 | 21.3% | 36.5% |
| Bulloch County, GA | 80 | 21.5% | 23.8% |
| Tattnall County, GA | 80 | 24.1% | 30.4% |
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 Candler County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Candler County's poverty rate was 21.3% in 2024, 49th 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, Candler County ranks 74th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Candler 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 Candler 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 Candler County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.