About one in four people with a credit file in Hall County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hall County, 26.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 61% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hall County's score
In Hall County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 69.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 207.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 76% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 68.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hall 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.
Hall County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and median household income ($86,461, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.2% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people207.1 · 202576th percentile
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- 68.1 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 rent23.1% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
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- 52.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.7% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 34.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.1% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.3% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability12.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance16.5% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$86,461 · 202413th percentile
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- 30.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.1% · 2020 to 202452nd 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 Hall 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 Hall County, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hall County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hall County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Hall County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hall County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.9% in 2011 to 12.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Hall County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 7.6% 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, Hall County, Georgia.
How Hall County has changed
Hall County's population had its largest rise, from 110,029 in 1994 to 134,781 in 1999.
Hall County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 221,745, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 74,275. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hall County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Hall County had its largest rise in the last span, from 87,882 in 2020 to 103,296 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Hall County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 103,296, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 68,532. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hall County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 10.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,397 | 2024 $86,461 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Hall County's history
1818
Created on December 15, 1818, from Cherokee lands ceded by treaty. Wikipedia
1851
Fire destroyed much of Gainesville, 1851. Wikipedia
1993
A tornado in February 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A tornado in June 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in March 1998 did $15 million in property damage and killed 10 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Lightning in July 2005 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 203,136, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hall County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hall County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Hall County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hall County ranks 7th of the nine; White County is highest, at 29.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gwinnett County, GA | 61 | 10.4% | 16.1% |
| Hall County, GA | 51 | 10.1% | 17.7% |
| White County, GA | 46 | 10.8% | 29.0% |
| Habersham County, GA | 44 | 13.6% | 28.3% |
| Lumpkin County, GA | 43 | 13.0% | 24.6% |
| Banks County, GA | 41 | 9.5% | 21.8% |
| Jackson County, GA | 33 | 8.3% | 19.9% |
| Dawson County, GA | 28 | 8.0% | 17.9% |
| 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 Hall County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Hall County's poverty rate was 10.1% in 2024, 139th 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, Hall County ranks 132nd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hall 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 Hall County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.