About three in ten people with a credit file in Hart County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hart County, 29.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hart County's score
In Hart County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 75.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.4%, August 2025, higher than in 85% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 61.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hart 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.
Hart County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.8%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.4% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.3% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 61.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.6% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,976 · 202458th percentile
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- 61.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.4% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people127 · 202550th percentile
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- 44.8 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 30.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th 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 Hart 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 Hart County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hart County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hart County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Hart County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hart County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.8% in 2011 to 14.6% in 2012.
The share of households in Hart County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 10.4%
Biggest drop: 2021 to 2022, reaching 11.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hart County, Georgia.
How Hart County has changed
Hart County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 25,743 in 2019 to 28,052 in 2024.
Hart County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28,052, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 25,132. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hart County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Hart County had its largest rise in the last span, from 6,457 in 2020 to 8,261 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Hart County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 5,879 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hart County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,428 | 2024 $63,976 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Hart County's history
1853
Created December 7, 1853. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 25,828, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hart County. FEMA
Hart County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hart County, in Georgia and South Carolina, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hart County ranks 3rd of the six; Elbert County is highest, at 35.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elbert County, GA | 82 | 17.7% | 35.4% |
| Franklin County, GA | 73 | 15.2% | 29.1% |
| Madison County, GA | 66 | 11.8% | 25.2% |
| Hart County, GA | 57 | 13.7% | 28.9% |
| Anderson County, SC | 56 | 13.1% | 26.6% |
| Oconee County, SC | 52 | 16.1% | 27.3% |
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 Hart County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Hart County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 106th 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, Hart County ranks 125th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hart 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 Hart County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.