About one in two people with a credit file in Early County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Early County, 46.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Early County's score
In Early County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. Late payments on loans come next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Early 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.
Early County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people369.2 · 2025top 5%
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- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.1% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score64.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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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 line26.7% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line41.9% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance13.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,188 · 2024top 5%
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- 77.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 76.8 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 rent20.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.0% · fiscal year 202787th 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 Early 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 Early County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Early County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Early County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Early County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Early County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 26.2% in 2013 to 23.4% in 2014; 24.4% in 2022 to 27.2% in 2023.
The share of households in Early County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 26.2%, with its low point on the chart in 2018
Low on the chart: 23.0% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Early County, Georgia.
How Early County has changed
Early County's population had its largest drop, from 12,836 in 1984 to 12,019 in 1989.
Early County's population fell by about a fifth to 10,444, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 13,020 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Early County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Early County fell by about a quarter to 3,540, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 4,951 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Early County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 33.4% | 2024 26.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,830 | 2024 $46,188 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Early County's history
1818
Created December 15, 1818. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 18,983. The 2020 Census counted 10,854, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in January 2005 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Early County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Early County beside its neighbors
Early County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Georgia and Alabama. For the share of income from benefit checks, Early County ranks 3rd of the eight; Clay County is highest, at 46.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early County, GA | 98 | 26.7% | 36.0% |
| Seminole County, GA | 94 | 22.5% | 34.2% |
| Baker County, GA | 93 | 24.1% | 29.9% |
| Miller County, GA | 93 | 20.3% | 33.8% |
| Clay County, GA | 92 | 25.7% | 46.8% |
| Calhoun County, GA | 87 | 36.8% | 44.7% |
| Houston County, AL | 77 | 17.0% | 27.5% |
| Henry County, AL | 62 | 16.0% | 29.3% |
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 Early County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Early County's poverty rate was 26.7% in 2024, 12th 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, Early County ranks 7th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Early 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 Early County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.