About one in three people with a credit file in Irwin County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Irwin County, 34.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Irwin County's score
In Irwin County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.5. People with a credit card behind: 12.0%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 90.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Irwin 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.
Irwin County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (8.5%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (12.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.0% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.7% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.5% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 90.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.5% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people559.2 · 2025top 5%
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- 71.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.9% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability8.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance19.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,271 · 202484th percentile
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- 49.6 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 rent12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.9% · fiscal year 202777th percentile
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- 19.9 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 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.8% · 2020 to 20248th 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 Irwin 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 Irwin County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Irwin County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Irwin County had its largest rise, from 19.1% in 1999 to 25.5% in 2004.
In Irwin County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Irwin County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Irwin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.2% in 2012 to 17.5% in 2013.
The share of households in Irwin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.2% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Irwin County, Georgia.
How Irwin County has changed
Irwin County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1999 high, from 8,835 in 1994 to 9,793 in 1999.
Irwin County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2019, reaching 9,692, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 9,793 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Irwin County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Irwin County rose most sharply from its first year (1,763 in 1990) to 2,488 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Irwin County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 2,604 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Irwin County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.6% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,877 | 2024 $54,271 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Irwin County's history
1818
Created on December 15, 1818. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 13,645. The 2020 Census counted 9,666, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
2006
Lightning in May 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A thunderstorm in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Irwin County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Irwin County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Irwin County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Irwin County ranks 5th of the six; Turner County is highest, at 39.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hill County, GA | 96 | 22.2% | 35.6% |
| Turner County, GA | 94 | 25.2% | 39.0% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Tift County, GA | 79 | 19.3% | 27.0% |
| Berrien County, GA | 79 | 18.0% | 33.2% |
| Irwin County, GA | 74 | 19.0% | 28.3% |
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 Irwin County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Irwin County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 65th 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, Irwin County ranks 101st of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Irwin 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 Irwin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.