In Hancock County, Georgia, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2023
In 2024, 43 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hancock County's score
In Hancock County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 93.5. About half of renters (48.2%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 93.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hancock 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.
Hancock County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.5 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent48.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.5% · fiscal year 202791st percentile
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- 93.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.9% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 91.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector43.8% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people276.6 · 202588th percentile
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- 88.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202682nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working49.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 88.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line30.7% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line41.6% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability23.3% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.8% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,810 · 2024top 5%
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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 Hancock 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 Hancock County, 25.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hancock County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hancock County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Georgia
In Hancock County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Hancock County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 29.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 21.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hancock County, Georgia.
How Hancock County has changed
Hancock County's population fell most sharply on the way to its 2014 low, from 9,508 in 2009 to 8,670 in 2014.
Hancock County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 10,021 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hancock County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Hancock County rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 1,222 in 2010 to 1,578 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Hancock County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 1,940 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hancock County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 31.2% | 2024 30.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,377 | 2024 $43,810 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Hancock County's history
1793
Hancock County was created on December 17, 1793. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 19,189. The 2020 Census counted 8,735, 46% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
A tornado in February 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hancock County. FEMA
Hancock County beside its neighbors
Hancock County scores higher than all seven counties that border it. Of the group, Hancock County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (43.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, GA | 99 | 30.7% | 43.1% |
| Baldwin County, GA | 95 | 21.5% | 32.4% |
| Washington County, GA | 95 | 25.1% | 33.4% |
| Taliaferro County, GA | 94 | 23.4% | 36.6% |
| Warren County, GA | 91 | 24.6% | 41.7% |
| Putnam County, GA | 67 | 13.5% | 24.6% |
| Glascock County, GA | 61 | 16.4% | 33.8% |
| Greene County, GA | 42 | 13.6% | 20.7% |
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 Hancock County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Hancock County's poverty rate was 30.7% in 2024, 4th 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, Hancock County ranks 2nd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hancock 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 Hancock 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 Hancock County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.