About three in ten people in Jenkins County, Georgia, live below the poverty line
In Jenkins County, 28.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jenkins County's score
In Jenkins County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.7%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jenkins 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.
Jenkins County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (4.4%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.7% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.5% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.0% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 85.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line34.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance14.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,061 · 2024top 5%
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- 84.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.7% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people197.1 · 202573rd percentile
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- 50.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 46.5 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 rent4.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202788th 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 Jenkins 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 Jenkins County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jenkins County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jenkins County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 36.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Jenkins County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jenkins County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 28.1% in 2020 to 21.3% in 2021.
The share of households in Jenkins County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 14.8% 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, Jenkins County, Georgia.
How Jenkins County has changed
Jenkins County's population rose 4% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 2009 and 2014
High on the chart: 9,010 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jenkins County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Jenkins County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 2,617 in 2005 to 1,197 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Jenkins County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 41% since
High on the chart: 2,916 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jenkins County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.7% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.7% | 2024 28.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,933 | 2024 $46,061 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Jenkins County's history
1905
Created on August 17, 1905, from portions of Bulloch, Burke, Emanuel and Screven counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 14,328. The 2020 Census counted 8,674, 61% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
MI Windows and Doors manufacturing plant closed December 2007. Wikipedia
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jenkins County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jenkins County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Jenkins County, three score higher. Of the group, Jenkins County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (36.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke County, GA | 97 | 24.2% | 33.2% |
| Screven County, GA | 94 | 21.1% | 36.1% |
| Emanuel County, GA | 88 | 22.1% | 35.3% |
| Jenkins County, GA | 86 | 28.8% | 36.8% |
| Bulloch County, GA | 80 | 21.5% | 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 Jenkins County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Jenkins County's poverty rate was 28.8% in 2024, 7th 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, Jenkins County ranks 67th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jenkins 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 Jenkins 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 Jenkins County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.