About two in five people with a credit file in Evans County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Evans County, 42.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Evans County's score
In Evans County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 15.8%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 89.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Evans 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.
Evans County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (15.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind15.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score61.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 89.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.6% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people241.8 · 202583rd percentile
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- 83.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.6% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line33.1% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability15.5% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- People without health insurance15.7% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,653 · 202494th percentile
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- 73.8 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 rent20.3% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.2% · fiscal year 202784th percentile
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- 35.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.5% · 2020 to 202454th 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 Evans 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 Evans County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Evans County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Evans County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Evans County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Evans County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 23.5% in 2017 to 27.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Evans County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 19.6%
Low on the chart: 12.7% 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, Evans County, Georgia.
How Evans County has changed
Evans County's population had its largest rise, from 9,269 in 1994 to 10,289 in 1999.
Evans County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 10,869
High on the chart: 11,016 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Evans County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Evans County rose 38% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 4,790 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Evans County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.1% | 2024 22.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,925 | 2024 $47,653 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Evans County's history
1914
Constitutional amendment proposed August 11, 1914 and ratified by vote of people November 3, 1914. Wikipedia
1940
Camp Stewart (later Fort Stewart) created in 1940, displacing approximately 1,500 people across multiple counties. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 11,000. The 2020 Census counted 10,774, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Evans County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Evans County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Evans County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Evans County ranks 2nd of the six; Candler County is highest, at 36.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty County, GA | 91 | 16.0% | 28.4% |
| Evans County, GA | 90 | 22.6% | 30.5% |
| Candler County, GA | 84 | 21.3% | 36.5% |
| Bulloch County, GA | 80 | 21.5% | 23.8% |
| Tattnall County, GA | 80 | 24.1% | 30.4% |
| Bryan County, GA | 29 | 7.5% | 17.5% |
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 Evans County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Evans County's poverty rate was 22.6% in 2024, 35th 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, Evans County ranks 44th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Evans 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 Evans County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.