About two in five people with a credit file in Cook County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Cook County, 39.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cook County's score
In Cook County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 525 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 88.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cook 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.
Cook County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (15.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people525 · 2025top 5%
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- 88.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.0% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.0% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 73.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.6% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.4% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance15.3% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,852 · 202473rd percentile
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- 63.3 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 rent23.3% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202747th percentile
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- 52.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.0% · 2020 to 202481st 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 Cook 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 Cook County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cook County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cook County rose most in two steps: 18.4% in 1989 to 22.1% in 1994; 24.8% in 2004 to 28.5% in 2009.
In Cook County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 32.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Cook County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cook County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.1% in 2020 to 15.3% in 2021.
The share of households in Cook County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 15.1% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cook County, Georgia.
How Cook County has changed
Cook County's population rose by about half to 17,984, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 15,563. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cook County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Cook County had its largest drop, from 5,642 in 2000 to 4,794 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Cook County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 5,642 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cook County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.3% | 2024 16.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,025 | 2024 $58,852 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Cook County's history
1918
Constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed July 30, 1918, and ratified November 5, 1918. Wikipedia
2017
A tornado in January 2017 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,229, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cook County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cook County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Cook County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cook County ranks 3rd of the six; Brooks County is highest, at 34.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks County, GA | 98 | 19.4% | 34.3% |
| Lowndes County, GA | 90 | 18.1% | 26.3% |
| Cook County, GA | 89 | 16.6% | 32.7% |
| Colquitt County, GA | 86 | 22.2% | 30.9% |
| Tift County, GA | 79 | 19.3% | 27.0% |
| Berrien County, GA | 79 | 18.0% | 33.2% |
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 Cook County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Cook County's poverty rate was 16.6% in 2024, 85th 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, Cook County ranks 49th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cook 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.
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 Cook County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.