About three in ten people with a credit file in Fulton County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Fulton County, 30.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fulton County's score
In Fulton County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 323.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 76.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fulton 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.
Fulton County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (10.3%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($100,751, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.4% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people323.3 · 202592nd percentile
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- 76.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.8% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 71.4 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 rent25.9% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd percentile
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- 28.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.5% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
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- 26.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.3% · 202433rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.8% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability10.3% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$100,751 · 20245th 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 Fulton 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 Fulton County, 12.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fulton County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Fulton County moved most in two steps: 6.2% in 1969 to 9.0% in 1974; 9.5% in 1994 to 6.7% in 1999.
In Fulton County, pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Fulton County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fulton County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 9.1% in 2010 to 10.4% in 2011; 11.6% in 2012 to 12.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Fulton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 11.6%
Low on the chart: 8.0% 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, Fulton County, Georgia.
How Fulton County has changed
Fulton County's population had its largest rise, from 809,481 in 2004 to 905,511 in 2009.
Fulton County's population nearly doubled to 1,090,354, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 1,090,354 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fulton County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Fulton County nearly doubled to 948,768, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 759,387. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fulton County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.0% | 2024 11.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,019 | 2024 $100,751 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Fulton County's history
1975
A tornado in March 1975 did $250 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A thunderstorm in July 2003 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in March 2008 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in September 2009 did $48 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 1,066,710, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1975
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fulton County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fulton County beside its neighbors
Of the 10 counties that border Fulton County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fulton County ranks 10th of the 11; Clayton County is highest, at 27.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton County, GA | 98 | 17.4% | 27.8% |
| Carroll County, GA | 85 | 13.3% | 22.9% |
| Douglas County, GA | 81 | 10.7% | 23.0% |
| DeKalb County, GA | 81 | 12.7% | 14.9% |
| Gwinnett County, GA | 61 | 10.4% | 16.1% |
| Fulton County, GA | 61 | 11.3% | 8.9% |
| Cobb County, GA | 44 | 8.7% | 12.3% |
| Coweta County, GA | 41 | 7.3% | 16.6% |
| Fayette County, GA | 34 | 5.8% | 15.5% |
| Cherokee County, GA | 19 | 6.8% | 14.3% |
| Forsyth County, GA | 4 | 4.5% | 8.2% |
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 Fulton County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Fulton County's poverty rate was 11.3% in 2024, 129th 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, Fulton County ranks 123rd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fulton 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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D&e, a Housing & Economic Empowerment Center, Inc. (d&e Group)
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Nid-hca Emerson
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Nid-hca Georgia
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Atlanta Legal Aid Society
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 Fulton 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 Fulton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.