About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Dodge County, Georgia, are not working
In Dodge County, 30.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dodge County's score
In Dodge County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 94.8. People with a credit card behind: 12.2%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dodge 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.
Dodge County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score58.2% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 85.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.2% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.2% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability21.5% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- People without health insurance14.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,872 · 202490th percentile
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- 68.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.3% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people121.4 · 202547th percentile
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- 57.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.7% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 55.7 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th 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 Dodge 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 Dodge County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dodge County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dodge County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 36.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Dodge County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dodge County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 22.5% in 2017 to 20.2% in 2018; 21.0% in 2020 to 18.7% in 2021.
The share of households in Dodge County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 22.2%
Low on the chart: 17.5% 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, Dodge County, Georgia.
How Dodge County has changed
Dodge County's population had its largest rise, from 20,319 in 2004 to 21,659 in 2009.
Dodge County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 21,659 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dodge County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Dodge County rose most sharply from its first year (4,417 in 1990) to 5,764 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Dodge County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 6,277 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dodge County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.7% | 2024 18.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,559 | 2024 $50,872 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Dodge County's history
1869
Timber and sawmill boom in Eastman area after railroad arrival in 1869. Wikipedia
1870
Organized October 26, 1870 during Reconstruction era. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 22,540. The 2020 Census counted 19,925, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A tornado in November 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dodge County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dodge County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Dodge County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dodge County ranks 4th of the seven; Telfair County is highest, at 43.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telfair County, GA | 90 | 25.7% | 43.3% |
| Laurens County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.8% |
| Dodge County, GA | 87 | 18.2% | 36.6% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 83 | 21.2% | 33.2% |
| Bleckley County, GA | 80 | 17.6% | 31.4% |
| Wilcox County, GA | 80 | 28.4% | 38.8% |
| Wheeler County, GA | 75 | 35.0% | 41.4% |
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 Dodge County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Dodge County's poverty rate was 18.2% in 2024, 70th 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, Dodge County ranks 63rd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dodge 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 Dodge County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.