About three in ten people with a credit file in Jones County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jones County, 29.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jones County's score
In Jones County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 82.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 321 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 58.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jones 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.
Jones County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and median household income ($76,533, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.8% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people321 · 202592nd percentile
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- 58.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.5% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.8% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 53.2 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
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- 43.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,533 · 202426th percentile
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- 34.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.0% · 2020 to 202445th 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 Jones 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 Jones County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jones County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jones County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 24.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Jones County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 24.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jones County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.5% in 2010 to 13.2% in 2011.
The share of households in Jones County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.8%
Low on the chart: 10.6% 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, Jones County, Georgia.
How Jones County has changed
Jones County's population more than doubled to 29,047, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 26,537. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jones County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Jones County made its largest gain on the way to its 2015 high, from 3,441 in 2010 to 4,392 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Jones County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,238
High on the chart: 4,392 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jones County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.3% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,172 | 2024 $76,533 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Jones County's history
1807
Established on December 10, 1807, from land originally part of Baldwin County. Wikipedia
1864
Griswoldville cotton gin and woolen factories burned by Union forces November 1864, town not rebuilt. Wikipedia
1955
A tornado in May 1955 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1964
A tornado in December 1964 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 28,669. The 2020 Census counted 28,347, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jones County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jones County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Jones County, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jones County ranks 7th of the eight; Twiggs County is highest, at 37.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bibb County, GA | 99 | 23.4% | 31.0% |
| Twiggs County, GA | 97 | 20.1% | 37.4% |
| Wilkinson County, GA | 96 | 20.6% | 36.8% |
| Baldwin County, GA | 95 | 21.5% | 32.4% |
| Jasper County, GA | 74 | 13.2% | 24.7% |
| Putnam County, GA | 67 | 13.5% | 24.6% |
| Jones County, GA | 56 | 11.7% | 24.1% |
| Monroe County, GA | 46 | 10.5% | 20.0% |
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 Jones County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Jones County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 125th 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, Jones County ranks 128th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jones 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 Jones County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.