About one in five people in Echols County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Echols County, 22.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Echols County's score
In Echols County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 82.8. About one in three people with a credit file (35.4%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 87% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 75.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Echols 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.
Echols County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (8.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (2.0%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.4% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people215.7 · 202578th percentile
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- 75.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.2% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line33.1% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability8.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance21.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,554 · 202489th percentile
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- 64.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.0% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.5% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 48.7 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 rent6.5% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.4% · fiscal year 202791st percentile
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- 23.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20266th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th 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 Echols 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 Echols County, 12.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Echols County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Echols County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Echols County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Echols County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 10.8% in 2023 to 20.3% in 2024.
The share of households in Echols County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2022, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 7.4% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Echols County, Georgia.
How Echols County has changed
Echols County's population had its largest rise, from 2,526 in 1994 to 3,553 in 1999.
Echols County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 4,012 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Echols County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Echols County had its largest rise, from 397 in 1995 to 887 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Echols County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 887 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Echols County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.6% | 2024 22.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,654 | 2024 $51,554 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Echols County's history
1858
Established December 13, 1858 from sections of Lowndes County and Clinch County. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 4,034. The 2020 Census counted 3,697, 92% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Echols County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Echols County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Echols County, in Georgia and Florida, score higher than it does. Of the group, Echols County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Hamilton County gets the largest, at 42.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, FL | 98 | 25.3% | 42.3% |
| Lowndes County, GA | 90 | 18.1% | 26.3% |
| Clinch County, GA | 89 | 22.0% | 35.8% |
| Lanier County, GA | 88 | 17.3% | 32.4% |
| Columbia County, FL | 87 | 16.0% | 32.8% |
| Echols County, GA | 64 | 22.2% | 24.1% |
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 Echols County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Echols County's poverty rate was 22.2% in 2024, 38th 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, Echols County ranks 116th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Echols 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 Echols 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 Echols County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.