In Heard County, Georgia, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in three dollars of the typical household's income
In Heard County, 32.4% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Heard County's score
In Heard County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 290.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 80.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Heard 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.
Heard County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (3.7%, August 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.1% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people290.8 · 202589th percentile
-
- 80.3 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 rent20.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income32.4% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
-
- 68.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.5% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
-
- 66.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability22.4% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance13.8% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,329 · 202454th percentile
-
- 55.4 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 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.7% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
-
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 Heard 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 Heard County, 17.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Heard County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Heard County had its largest rise, from 20.1% in 2004 to 28.7% in 2009.
In Heard County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Heard County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Heard County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.6% in 2010 to 25.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Heard County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2023, reaching 26.9%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 26.9% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Heard County, Georgia.
How Heard County has changed
Heard County's population more than doubled to 12,119, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 8,412. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Heard County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Heard County rose most sharply after its 1995 low, from 1,780 in 1995 to 2,493 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Heard County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 2,564 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Heard County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,920 | 2024 $65,329 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Heard County's history
1830
Created by Act of the Legislature on December 22, 1830. Wikipedia
1973
A tornado in May 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A tornado in March 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A tornado in February 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 11,834. The 2020 Census counted 11,412, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Heard County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Heard County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Heard County, in Georgia and Alabama, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Heard County ranks 2nd of the five; Randolph County is highest, at 36.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troup County, GA | 86 | 14.9% | 27.4% |
| Carroll County, GA | 85 | 13.3% | 22.9% |
| Heard County, GA | 84 | 12.5% | 28.6% |
| Randolph County, AL | 83 | 18.6% | 36.1% |
| Coweta County, GA | 41 | 7.3% | 16.6% |
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 Heard County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Heard County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 118th 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, Heard County ranks 76th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Heard 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.
-
Georgia Legal Services Program
Legal aid
-
Georgia Legal Aid
Legal help website
-
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 Heard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.