About one in six people in Catoosa County, Georgia, has a disability
In Catoosa County, 17.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 63% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Catoosa County's score
In Catoosa County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 402 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 53.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Catoosa 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.
Catoosa County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people below the poverty line (10.4%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.8% · August 202559th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people402 · 202596th percentile
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- 53.6 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 rent17.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 51.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.6% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 45.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.4% · 202425th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.9% · 202432nd percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,900 · 202431st percentile
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- 32.0 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 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th 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 Catoosa 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 Catoosa County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Catoosa County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Catoosa County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 24.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Catoosa County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 24.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Catoosa County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.0% in 2012 to 11.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Catoosa County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.8%
High on the chart: 12.1% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Catoosa County, Georgia.
How Catoosa County has changed
Catoosa County's population had its largest rise, from 52,118 in 1999 to 58,866 in 2004.
Catoosa County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 68,940, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 68,940. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Catoosa County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Catoosa County rose 43% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 13,458. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Catoosa County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.1% | 2024 10.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,403 | 2024 $73,900 |
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 Catoosa County's history
1853
County created December 5, 1853. Wikipedia
2002
125 vehicles crashed in a pileup on Interstate 75 on March 14, 2002, due to sudden fog, killing four people and injuring 39. Wikipedia
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in September 2009 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $25 million in property damage and killed eight people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 67,872, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Catoosa County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Catoosa County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Catoosa County, in Georgia and Tennessee, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Catoosa County ranks 2nd of the four; Walker County is highest, at 30.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walker County, GA | 75 | 12.8% | 30.8% |
| Whitfield County, GA | 69 | 14.4% | 22.9% |
| Hamilton County, TN | 54 | 14.5% | 19.6% |
| Catoosa County, GA | 53 | 10.4% | 24.2% |
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 Catoosa County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Catoosa County's poverty rate was 10.4% in 2024, 137th 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, Catoosa County ranks 130th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Catoosa 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 Catoosa 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 Catoosa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.