About one in five people in Colquitt County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Colquitt County, 22.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Colquitt County's score
In Colquitt County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 90.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 474.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 86.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Colquitt 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.
Colquitt County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.4% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people474.4 · 202598th percentile
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- 86.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.2% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.8% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance20.5% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,031 · 202492nd percentile
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- 82.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.4% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 63.2 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 rent17.3% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.5% · fiscal year 202781st percentile
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- 37.7 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 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.8% · 2020 to 202462nd 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 Colquitt 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 Colquitt County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Colquitt County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Colquitt County made its largest gain on the way to its 2014 high, from 27.4% in 2009 to 31.6% in 2014.
In Colquitt County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Colquitt County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Colquitt County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 21.0% in 2020 to 17.6% in 2021.
The share of households in Colquitt County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 17.2% 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, Colquitt County, Georgia.
How Colquitt County has changed
Colquitt County's population rose by about half to 46,977, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 41,737. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Colquitt County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Colquitt County rose by about a third to 15,791, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 14,140. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Colquitt County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.6% | 2024 22.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,435 | 2024 $49,031 |
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 Colquitt County's history
1856
Created February 25, 1856. Wikipedia
1989
A tornado in October 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in February 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A thunderstorm in March 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 45,898, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
Lightning in July 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Colquitt County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Colquitt County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Colquitt County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Colquitt County ranks 3rd of the seven; Brooks County is highest, at 34.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks County, GA | 98 | 19.4% | 34.3% |
| Mitchell County, GA | 98 | 23.0% | 30.6% |
| Worth County, GA | 97 | 26.4% | 30.0% |
| Cook County, GA | 89 | 16.6% | 32.7% |
| Colquitt County, GA | 86 | 22.2% | 30.9% |
| Thomas County, GA | 84 | 17.3% | 27.1% |
| Tift County, GA | 79 | 19.3% | 27.0% |
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 Colquitt County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Colquitt County's poverty rate was 22.2% in 2024, 38th 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, Colquitt County ranks 66th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Colquitt 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 Colquitt 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 Colquitt County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.