In Clay County, Georgia, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2014
In 2024, 47 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 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clay County's score
In Clay County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 455.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 85.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clay 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.
Clay County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (3.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.8% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people455.7 · 2025top 5%
-
- 85.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.2% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 78.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.7% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line37.5% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance7.8% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$40,200 · 2024top 5%
-
- 77.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
-
- 50.0 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 rent3.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.9% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
-
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 Clay 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 Clay County, 29.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clay County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clay County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2014
In Clay County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 46.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 25.9% in 2010 to 33.2% in 2011.
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 26.2%
Low on the chart: 24.9% 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, Clay County, Georgia.
How Clay County has changed
Clay County's population fell by about a quarter to 2,815, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2014 to 2019, reaching 2,868. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clay County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Clay County fell most sharply on the way to its 2015 low, from 710 in 2010 to 517 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Clay County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 730 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clay County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 6.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 40.0% | 2024 25.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $11,858 | 2024 $40,200 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Clay County's history
1816
Fort Gaines founded 1816 as military protection against Creeks. Wikipedia
1854
Created by act of Georgia General Assembly on February 16, 1854, from portions of Early and Randolph counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 8,960. The 2020 Census counted 2,848, 32% of the peak. Census Bureau
1963
A tornado in January 1963 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A thunderstorm in October 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1994
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clay County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clay County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Clay County, in Georgia and Alabama, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clay County ranks 2nd of the seven; Quitman County is highest, at 47.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early County, GA | 98 | 26.7% | 36.0% |
| Randolph County, GA | 97 | 25.9% | 40.8% |
| Quitman County, GA | 96 | 22.3% | 47.4% |
| Barbour County, AL | 95 | 28.1% | 38.3% |
| Clay County, GA | 92 | 25.7% | 46.8% |
| Calhoun County, GA | 87 | 36.8% | 44.7% |
| Henry County, AL | 62 | 16.0% | 29.3% |
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 Clay County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 25.7% in 2024, 15th 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, Clay County ranks 36th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clay 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.
-
Georgia Legal Services Program
Legal aid
-
Georgia Legal Aid
Legal help website
-
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 Clay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.