About one in five people in Fannin County, Georgia, has a disability
In Fannin County, 19.3% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fannin County's score
In Fannin County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 71.2. About one in seven people (14.4%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 87% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 66.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fannin 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.
Fannin County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.9% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.4% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability19.3% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance14.4% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,504 · 202466th percentile
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- 66.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.0% · August 202553rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people215.8 · 202578th percentile
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- 47.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.9% · second quarter of 202633rd percentile
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- 38.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.8% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
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- 28.9 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 rent12.6% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th 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 Fannin 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 Fannin County, 30.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fannin County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Fannin County had its largest rise, from 26.9% in 2004 to 33.7% in 2009.
In Fannin County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 37% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Fannin County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fannin County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 7.8% in 2009 to 10.3% in 2010; 11.2% in 2022 to 13.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Fannin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 13.4%
Low on the chart: 7.8% 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, Fannin County, Georgia.
How Fannin County has changed
Fannin County's population doubled to 25,854, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 21,873. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fannin County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Fannin County had its largest rise in the last span, from 6,207 in 2020 to 7,675 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Fannin County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 7,675, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 5,176. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fannin County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.7% | 2024 13.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,613 | 2024 $61,504 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Fannin County's history
1854
Founded January 12, 1854 from 396 square miles previously part of Gilmer and Union counties. Wikipedia
1862
Anti-Confederate 'Tories' relocated to pro-Union Tennessee during Civil War, early 1862. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Hail in May 2011 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 25,319, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fannin County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fannin County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Fannin County, in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fannin County ranks 3rd of the eight; Cherokee County is highest, at 45.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, TN | 77 | 14.6% | 30.8% |
| Murray County, GA | 76 | 15.7% | 29.9% |
| Fannin County, GA | 50 | 13.9% | 32.0% |
| Cherokee County, NC | 49 | 15.4% | 45.0% |
| Lumpkin County, GA | 43 | 13.0% | 24.6% |
| Gilmer County, GA | 39 | 14.4% | 31.3% |
| Union County, GA | 33 | 11.4% | 38.1% |
| Dawson County, GA | 28 | 8.0% | 17.9% |
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 Fannin County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Fannin County's poverty rate was 13.9% in 2024, 102nd 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, Fannin County ranks 134th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fannin 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 Fannin 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 Fannin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.