Unemployment in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties
In Chattahoochee County, 7.3% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chattahoochee County's score
In Chattahoochee County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 70.4. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 69.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chattahoochee 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.
Chattahoochee County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (12.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.0% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 69.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.8% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people138.6 · 202555th percentile
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- 64.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.3% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 51.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.8% · 202479th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability12.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,793 · 202468th percentile
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- 46.3 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 rent11.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.9% · fiscal year 202777th 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 Chattahoochee 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 Chattahoochee County, 4.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chattahoochee County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chattahoochee County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to more than ten times its 1969 level, reaching 15.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Chattahoochee County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to more than ten times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 15.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Chattahoochee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.5% in 2019 to 15.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Chattahoochee County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2015, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 8.3% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chattahoochee County, Georgia.
How Chattahoochee County has changed
Chattahoochee County's population fell by more than half to 8,548, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 16,807. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chattahoochee County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Chattahoochee County had its largest drop, from 4,216 in 1995 to 1,302 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Chattahoochee County fell by more than half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,982, with its low point on the chart in 2000
Low on the chart: 1,302 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chattahoochee County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 7.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.4% | 2024 17.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,067 | 2024 $60,793 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Chattahoochee County's history
1854
Created February 13, 1854 from portions of Muscogee and Marion counties. Wikipedia
1918
Fort Benning military reservation occupied most of Chattahoochee County land since 1918. Wikipedia
1954
A tornado in March 1954 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 25,813. The 2020 Census counted 9,565, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chattahoochee County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chattahoochee County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Chattahoochee County, in Georgia and Alabama, score higher than it does. Of the group, Chattahoochee County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Talbot County gets the largest, at 39.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talbot County, GA | 99 | 22.0% | 39.7% |
| Russell County, AL | 98 | 20.2% | 35.5% |
| Muscogee County, GA | 95 | 17.3% | 27.2% |
| Stewart County, GA | 91 | 30.6% | 38.4% |
| Marion County, GA | 89 | 22.1% | 36.1% |
| Chattahoochee County, GA | 67 | 17.8% | 15.5% |
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 Chattahoochee County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Chattahoochee County's poverty rate was 17.8% in 2024, 73rd 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, Chattahoochee County ranks 110th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chattahoochee 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 Chattahoochee 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 Chattahoochee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.