About one in 14 people in Coweta County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Coweta County, 7.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coweta County's score
In Coweta County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 72.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 21.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coweta 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.
Even so, Coweta County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (306.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.8% · August 202552nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people306.6 · 202591st percentile
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- 54.3 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 rent17.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.0% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 49.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.7% · second quarter of 202644th percentile
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- 29.3 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 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.8% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
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- 21.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.3% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.9% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability13.4% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$96,188 · 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 Coweta 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 Coweta County, 15.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coweta County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Coweta County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 16.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Coweta County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coweta County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.9% in 2011 to 9.2% in 2012.
The share of households in Coweta County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 6.5% 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, Coweta County, Georgia.
How Coweta County has changed
Coweta County's population had its largest rise, from 104,089 in 2004 to 125,501 in 2009.
Coweta County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 158,233, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 38,178. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coweta County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Coweta County tripled to 49,373, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 49,373. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coweta County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.8% | 2024 7.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,875 | 2024 $96,188 |
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 Coweta County's history
1826
County boundaries created June 9, 1826 but not named until December 14, 1826. Wikipedia
1989
A tornado in March 1989 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Hail in March 2011 did $6.53 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A thunderstorm in July 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 146,158, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A tornado in March 2021 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coweta County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coweta County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Coweta County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Coweta County ranks 6th of the eight; Meriwether County is highest, at 32.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spalding County, GA | 95 | 16.4% | 31.6% |
| Meriwether County, GA | 87 | 17.8% | 32.8% |
| Troup County, GA | 86 | 14.9% | 27.4% |
| Carroll County, GA | 85 | 13.3% | 22.9% |
| Heard County, GA | 84 | 12.5% | 28.6% |
| Fulton County, GA | 61 | 11.3% | 8.9% |
| Coweta County, GA | 41 | 7.3% | 16.6% |
| Fayette County, GA | 34 | 5.8% | 15.5% |
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 Coweta County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Coweta County's poverty rate was 7.3% in 2024, 153rd 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, Coweta County ranks 146th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coweta 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 Coweta 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 Coweta County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.