About one in 15 people in Columbia County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Columbia County, 6.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Columbia County's score
In Columbia County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 54.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 21.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Columbia 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.
Columbia County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.0% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people157.4 · 202562nd percentile
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- 42.5 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.5% · fiscal year 202710th percentile
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- 42.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.4% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.4% · second quarter of 202631st percentile
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- 32.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 21.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.6% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.2% · 20246th percentile
- People with a disability14.0% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$96,487 · 20246th 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 Columbia 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 Columbia County, 15.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Columbia County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Columbia County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 20.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Columbia County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 20.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Columbia County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.8% in 2016 to 5.8% in 2017.
The share of households in Columbia County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 6.7%
High on the chart: 6.9% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Columbia County, Georgia.
How Columbia County has changed
Columbia County's population had its largest rise, from 102,934 in 2004 to 121,050 in 2009.
Columbia County's population grew to about eight times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 167,472, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 27,152. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Columbia County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Columbia County had its largest rise in the last span, from 36,064 in 2020 to 42,806 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Columbia County more than tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 42,806, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 31,247. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Columbia County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.3% | 2024 6.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $38,354 | 2024 $96,487 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Columbia County's history
1790
Twelfth county formed in Georgia, created December 10, 1790 from Richmond County. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in April 2009 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 156,010, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Columbia County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Columbia County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Columbia County, in Georgia and South Carolina, score higher than it does. Of the group, Columbia County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; McCormick County gets the largest, at 45.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond County, GA | 98 | 19.0% | 31.5% |
| McDuffie County, GA | 96 | 19.6% | 34.6% |
| Edgefield County, SC | 70 | 16.8% | 29.3% |
| Lincoln County, GA | 61 | 14.1% | 32.9% |
| McCormick County, SC | 52 | 13.4% | 45.6% |
| Columbia County, GA | 30 | 6.6% | 20.0% |
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 Columbia County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Columbia County's poverty rate was 6.6% in 2024, 155th 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, Columbia County ranks 154th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Columbia 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 Columbia 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 Columbia County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.