About two in five people with a credit file in Douglas County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Douglas County, 40.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Douglas County's score
In Douglas County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 96.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 488.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 93.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Douglas 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.
Douglas County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (12.0%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($77,579, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.0% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people488.1 · 202598th percentile
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- 93.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.1% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.7% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 73.6 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 rent19.1% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.3% · fiscal year 202791st percentile
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- 42.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202636th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.5% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
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- 38.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.7% · 202428th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.1% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability12.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance12.3% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,579 · 202424th 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 Douglas 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 Douglas County, 12.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Douglas County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Douglas County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 23.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Douglas County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 23.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Douglas County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.4% in 2010 to 11.8% in 2011.
The share of households in Douglas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.6% 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, Douglas County, Georgia.
How Douglas County has changed
Douglas County's population had its largest rise, from 107,377 in 2004 to 131,292 in 2009.
Douglas County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 151,887, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 136,589. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Douglas County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Douglas County had its largest rise in the last span, from 42,090 in 2020 to 49,867 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Douglas County tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 49,867, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 37,301. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Douglas County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.7% | 2024 10.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,697 | 2024 $77,579 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Douglas County's history
1870
Created October 1, 1870 by act of the Georgia General Assembly from the part of Campbell county which was northwest of the Chattahoochee River. Wikipedia
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in September 2009 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in September 2009 did $8.7 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in September 2009 did $10.44 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 144,237, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Douglas County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Douglas County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Douglas County, one scores higher. Of the group, Douglas County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (23.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County, GA | 85 | 13.3% | 22.9% |
| Douglas County, GA | 81 | 10.7% | 23.0% |
| Fulton County, GA | 61 | 11.3% | 8.9% |
| Paulding County, GA | 54 | 6.6% | 16.5% |
| Cobb County, GA | 44 | 8.7% | 12.3% |
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 Douglas County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Douglas County's poverty rate was 10.7% in 2024, 133rd 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, Douglas County ranks 80th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Douglas 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 Douglas 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 Douglas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.