About two in five people with a credit file in Emanuel County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Emanuel County, 41.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Emanuel County's score
In Emanuel County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 90.0. The typical household earns $48,801 a year (2024), less than in 93% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 88.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Emanuel 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.
Emanuel County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (5.0%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.1% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.0% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability19.9% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance16.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,801 · 202493rd percentile
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- 88.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.5% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.3% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 81.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.4% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people168.7 · 202566th percentile
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- 64.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.2% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
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- 42.8 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 rent5.0% · 2020 to 20243rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.6% · fiscal year 202781st 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 Emanuel 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 Emanuel County, 16.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Emanuel County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Emanuel County had its largest rise, from 29.1% in 2004 to 34.7% in 2009.
In Emanuel County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 35.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Emanuel County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Emanuel County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 27.0%, with most of the change between 2011 and 2012
High on the chart: 28.9% 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, Emanuel County, Georgia.
How Emanuel County has changed
Emanuel County's population rose by about a quarter to 23,224, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 19,878. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Emanuel County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Emanuel County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 7,729 in 2005 to 6,627 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Emanuel County fell 6% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 6,589 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Emanuel County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.0% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.9% | 2024 22.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,406 | 2024 $48,801 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Emanuel County's history
1812
Created December 10, 1812 by act of Georgia General Assembly from land originally in parts of Bulloch and Montgomery counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 25,862. The 2020 Census counted 22,768, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
1970
A tornado in July 1970 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Emanuel County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Emanuel County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Emanuel County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Emanuel County ranks 6th of the nine; Johnson County is highest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke County, GA | 97 | 24.2% | 33.2% |
| Jefferson County, GA | 93 | 21.5% | 38.1% |
| Emanuel County, GA | 88 | 22.1% | 35.3% |
| Toombs County, GA | 86 | 22.8% | 33.6% |
| Jenkins County, GA | 86 | 28.8% | 36.8% |
| Treutlen County, GA | 85 | 22.9% | 35.5% |
| Candler County, GA | 84 | 21.3% | 36.5% |
| Johnson County, GA | 80 | 33.4% | 43.1% |
| Bulloch County, GA | 80 | 21.5% | 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 Emanuel County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Emanuel County's poverty rate was 22.1% in 2024, 41st 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, Emanuel County ranks 57th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Emanuel 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 Emanuel 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 Emanuel County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.