Benefit checks make up 35 cents of every dollar of income in Elbert County, Georgia
In Elbert County, 35.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Elbert County's score
In Elbert County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 86.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 10.4%, August 2025, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 78.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Elbert 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.
Elbert County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.8% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.4% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.1% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 78.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.7% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.7% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability18.2% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- People without health insurance12.2% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,923 · 202482nd percentile
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- 73.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.7% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people169.9 · 202566th percentile
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- 59.2 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 rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.1% · fiscal year 202763rd percentile
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- 45.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.4% · 2020 to 202465th 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 Elbert 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 Elbert County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Elbert County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Elbert County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 35.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Elbert County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Elbert County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.2% in 2013 to 20.0% in 2014.
The share of households in Elbert County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 15.4%
Low on the chart: 13.4% 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, Elbert County, Georgia.
How Elbert County has changed
Elbert County's population had its largest drop, from 20,335 in 2009 to 19,521 in 2014.
Elbert County's population rose 15% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 20,693 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Elbert County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Elbert County had its largest drop, from 7,068 in 2005 to 5,987 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Elbert County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2020, reaching 5,651, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 7,250 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Elbert County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.8% | 2024 17.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,989 | 2024 $54,923 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Elbert County's history
1790
Established December 10, 1790. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 24,125. The 2020 Census counted 19,637, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Elbert County. FEMA
Elbert County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Elbert County, in Georgia and South Carolina, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Elbert County ranks 2nd of the nine; McCormick County is highest, at 45.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.7% |
| Elbert County, GA | 82 | 17.7% | 35.4% |
| Madison County, GA | 66 | 11.8% | 25.2% |
| Abbeville County, SC | 63 | 16.7% | 34.9% |
| Lincoln County, GA | 61 | 14.1% | 32.9% |
| Hart County, GA | 57 | 13.7% | 28.9% |
| Oglethorpe County, GA | 57 | 12.2% | 22.6% |
| Anderson County, SC | 56 | 13.1% | 26.6% |
| McCormick County, SC | 52 | 13.4% | 45.6% |
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 Elbert County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Elbert County's poverty rate was 17.7% in 2024, 75th 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, Elbert County ranks 79th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Elbert 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 Elbert 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 Elbert County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.