About one in three people with a credit file in Lamar County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lamar County, 33.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lamar County's score
In Lamar County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.3. People with a credit card behind: 9.2%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 78.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lamar 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.
Lamar County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.8%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.4% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 78.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.3% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people196.1 · 202573rd percentile
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- 67.8 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 working25.7% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
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- 52.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.6% · 202445th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.6% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance10.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,344 · 202444th percentile
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- 16.1 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 rent10.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.6% · fiscal year 202717th 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 Lamar 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 Lamar County, 17.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lamar County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lamar County had its largest rise, from 21.0% in 2004 to 29.1% in 2009.
In Lamar County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lamar County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lamar County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.0% in 2016 to 14.3% in 2017.
The share of households in Lamar County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 13.5%
Low on the chart: 11.4% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lamar County, Georgia.
How Lamar County has changed
Lamar County's population doubled to 20,690, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 20,690. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lamar County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lamar County rose by about a quarter to 4,462, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 4,462 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lamar County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.4% | 2024 12.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,404 | 2024 $68,344 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 Lamar County's history
1920
Created November 2, 1920, from Pike County and Monroe County. Wikipedia
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $10 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,500, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lamar County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lamar County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lamar County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lamar County ranks 4th of the six; Spalding County is highest, at 31.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spalding County, GA | 95 | 16.4% | 31.6% |
| Upson County, GA | 92 | 16.3% | 31.5% |
| Butts County, GA | 66 | 13.4% | 28.7% |
| Lamar County, GA | 66 | 12.6% | 27.8% |
| Monroe County, GA | 46 | 10.5% | 20.0% |
| Pike County, GA | 43 | 8.4% | 20.4% |
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 Lamar County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Lamar County's poverty rate was 12.6% in 2024, 117th 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, Lamar County ranks 115th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lamar 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 Lamar County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.