About one in three people with a credit file in Houston County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Houston County, 33.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 81% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Houston County's score
In Houston County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 290.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Houston 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.
Houston County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and median household income ($79,245, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.0% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people290.2 · 202589th percentile
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- 69.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.9% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 62.9 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 rent21.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.1% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 40.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.9% · 202439th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.8% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,245 · 202421st percentile
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- 28.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.7% · 2020 to 202444th 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 Houston 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 Houston County, 13.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Houston County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Houston County had its largest rise, from 12.9% in 2004 to 17.3% in 2009.
In Houston County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about six times its 1969 level, reaching 23.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Houston County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about six times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 23.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Houston County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.1% in 2019 to 10.0% in 2020.
The share of households in Houston County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.0% 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, Houston County, Georgia.
How Houston County has changed
Houston County's population had its largest rise, from 109,216 in 1999 to 123,723 in 2004.
Houston County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 174,897, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 81,631. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Houston County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Houston County nearly doubled to 65,359, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 51,436. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Houston County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.4% | 2024 11.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $32,317 | 2024 $79,245 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Houston County's history
1821
Created on May 15, 1821, along with four other counties in the state. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in April 1953 did $25 million in property damage and killed 18 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1954
A tornado in March 1954 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in March 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 163,633, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A thunderstorm in May 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Houston County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Houston County beside its neighbors
All eight counties that border Houston County score higher than it does. Of the group, Houston County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Twiggs County gets the largest, at 37.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bibb County, GA | 99 | 23.4% | 31.0% |
| Twiggs County, GA | 97 | 20.1% | 37.4% |
| Macon County, GA | 95 | 29.9% | 29.3% |
| Dooly County, GA | 85 | 25.6% | 36.7% |
| Peach County, GA | 84 | 17.7% | 32.7% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 83 | 21.2% | 33.2% |
| Bleckley County, GA | 80 | 17.6% | 31.4% |
| Crawford County, GA | 79 | 14.4% | 28.2% |
| Houston County, GA | 61 | 11.9% | 23.8% |
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 Houston County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Houston County's poverty rate was 11.9% in 2024, 121st 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, Houston County ranks 124th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.