About one in four people in Dooly County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Dooly County, 25.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dooly County's score
In Dooly County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.2. About three in five people (59.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 83.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dooly 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.
Dooly County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.8%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.6% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 83.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line33.3% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance11.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,734 · 202493rd percentile
-
- 71.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.8% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people136.6 · 202554th percentile
-
- 68.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.4% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
-
- 48.1 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 rent10.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.7% · fiscal year 202781st percentile
-
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 Dooly 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 Dooly County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dooly County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dooly County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 37% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Dooly County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dooly County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 25.4% in 2019 to 18.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Dooly County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 17.6%
Low on the chart: 16.6% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dooly County, Georgia.
How Dooly County has changed
Dooly County's population had its largest rise, from 12,848 in 2004 to 14,769 in 2009.
Dooly County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 14,769 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dooly County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Dooly County rose most sharply from its first year (2,646 in 1990) to 3,723 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Dooly County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 3,723 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dooly County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 31.6% | 2024 25.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,816 | 2024 $48,734 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Dooly County's history
1821
Created May 15, 1821 by Georgia General Assembly, one of original landlot counties from Creek Nation land cession. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 26,567. The 2020 Census counted 11,208, 42% of the peak. Census Bureau
1961
A tornado in March 1961 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in April 1999 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1977
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dooly County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dooly County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Dooly County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dooly County ranks 2nd of the seven; Wilcox County is highest, at 38.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter County, GA | 97 | 27.6% | 34.5% |
| Crisp County, GA | 96 | 22.8% | 33.1% |
| Macon County, GA | 95 | 29.9% | 29.3% |
| Dooly County, GA | 85 | 25.6% | 36.7% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 83 | 21.2% | 33.2% |
| Wilcox County, GA | 80 | 28.4% | 38.8% |
| Houston County, GA | 61 | 11.9% | 23.8% |
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 Dooly County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Dooly County's poverty rate was 25.6% in 2024, 17th 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, Dooly County ranks 70th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dooly 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.
-
Georgia Legal Services Program
Legal aid
-
Georgia Legal Aid
Legal help website
-
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 Dooly County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.