About two in five people with a credit file in Grady County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Grady County, 39.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grady County's score
In Grady County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 91.9. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grady 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.
Grady County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people291.6 · 202590th percentile
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- 85.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.5% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.2% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability19.3% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance18.1% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,199 · 202484th percentile
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- 83.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.8% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.5% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 56.4 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 rent17.9% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 46.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.0% · 2020 to 202478th 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 Grady 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 Grady County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grady County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Grady County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Grady County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grady County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.5% in 2011 to 21.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Grady County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 12.9% 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, Grady County, Georgia.
How Grady County has changed
Grady County's population rose by about half to 26,271, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 23,568. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grady County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Grady County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 6,224 in 2005 to 5,418 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Grady County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990
High on the chart: 6,273 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grady County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.2% | 2024 19.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,025 | 2024 $54,199 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Grady County's history
1905
Created by act of Georgia General Assembly on August 17, 1905, from portions of Decatur and Thomas counties. Wikipedia
1971
A tornado in April 1971 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in February 2000 did $3.5 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in March 2001 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in August 2008 did $8.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 26,236, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grady County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grady County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Grady County, in Georgia and Florida, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grady County ranks 3rd of the six; Gadsden County is highest, at 30.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gadsden County, FL | 99 | 20.7% | 30.7% |
| Mitchell County, GA | 98 | 23.0% | 30.6% |
| Decatur County, GA | 94 | 21.7% | 28.7% |
| Grady County, GA | 87 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Thomas County, GA | 84 | 17.3% | 27.1% |
| Leon County, FL | 76 | 21.3% | 17.7% |
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 Grady County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Grady County's poverty rate was 19.5% in 2024, 62nd 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, Grady County ranks 59th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grady 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 Grady County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.