About one in four people in Jeff Davis County, Georgia, has a disability
In Jeff Davis County, 22.7% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jeff Davis County's score
In Jeff Davis County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 89.5. About one in five people (21.9%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 86.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jeff Davis 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.
Jeff Davis County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (3.7%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.7% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.6% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability22.7% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- People without health insurance21.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,152 · 202491st percentile
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- 86.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.2% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people261.6 · 202586th percentile
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- 67.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 56.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.4% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 49.1 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 rent12.3% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.0% · fiscal year 202778th 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 Jeff Davis 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 Jeff Davis County, 15.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jeff Davis County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jeff Davis County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 33.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Jeff Davis County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 33.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jeff Davis County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.3% in 2011 to 17.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Jeff Davis 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: 11.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jeff Davis County, Georgia.
How Jeff Davis County has changed
Jeff Davis County's population nearly doubled to 15,119, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 10,992. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jeff Davis County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Jeff Davis County fell most sharply after its 1995 high, from 5,929 in 1995 to 5,244 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Jeff Davis County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2020, reaching 4,205, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 5,929 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jeff Davis County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.8% | 2024 18.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,125 | 2024 $50,152 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Jeff Davis County's history
1905
Created on August 18, 1905. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 15,068. The 2020 Census counted 14,779, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jeff Davis County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jeff Davis County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Jeff Davis County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jeff Davis County ranks 4th of the eight; Telfair County is highest, at 43.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telfair County, GA | 90 | 25.7% | 43.3% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Toombs County, GA | 86 | 22.8% | 33.6% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 83 | 18.7% | 33.1% |
| Bacon County, GA | 80 | 20.7% | 31.7% |
| Appling County, GA | 76 | 16.9% | 28.3% |
| Wheeler County, GA | 75 | 35.0% | 41.4% |
| Montgomery County, GA | 72 | 20.7% | 30.1% |
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 Jeff Davis County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Jeff Davis County's poverty rate was 18.7% in 2024, 67th 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, Jeff Davis County ranks 78th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jeff Davis 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 Jeff Davis 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 Jeff Davis County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.