About one in four people in Coffee County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Coffee County, 23.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coffee County's score
In Coffee County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 429.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 83.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coffee 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.
Coffee County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.3%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.1%, 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 collector36.6% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people429.4 · 202596th percentile
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- 83.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.9% · second quarter of 202695th percentile
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- 78.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.3% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.2% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance17.9% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,764 · 202490th percentile
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- 57.0 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
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- 56.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.0% · 2020 to 202473rd 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 Coffee 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 Coffee County, 14.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coffee County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Coffee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Coffee County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coffee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.2% in 2011 to 17.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Coffee County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half to 20.0%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 12.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Coffee County, Georgia.
How Coffee County has changed
Coffee County's population had its largest rise, from 32,699 in 1994 to 36,813 in 1999.
Coffee County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43,851, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 43,108. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coffee County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Coffee County had its largest drop, from 18,266 in 2005 to 13,630 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Coffee County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 17,975
High on the chart: 18,480 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coffee County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.7% | 2024 23.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,360 | 2024 $50,764 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Coffee County's history
1818
Creek lands ceded in treaties, then apportioned. Wikipedia
1854
Created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on February 9, 1854, from portions of Clinch, Irwin, Telfair, and Ware counties. Wikipedia
1969
A tornado in April 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in April 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 43,092, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coffee County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coffee County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Coffee County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Coffee County ranks 8th of the nine; Telfair County is highest, at 43.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hill County, GA | 96 | 22.2% | 35.6% |
| Ware County, GA | 96 | 23.6% | 40.9% |
| Telfair County, GA | 90 | 25.7% | 43.3% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Atkinson County, GA | 87 | 28.3% | 29.9% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 83 | 18.7% | 33.1% |
| Bacon County, GA | 80 | 20.7% | 31.7% |
| Berrien County, GA | 79 | 18.0% | 33.2% |
| Irwin County, GA | 74 | 19.0% | 28.3% |
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 Coffee County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Coffee County's poverty rate was 23.3% in 2024, 30th 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, Coffee County ranks 54th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coffee 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 Coffee 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 Coffee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.