About one in three people with a credit file in Laurens County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Laurens County, 36.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Laurens County's score
In Laurens County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 10.6%, August 2025, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Laurens 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.
Laurens County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.0% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 82.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.6% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people200.2 · 202574th percentile
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- 78.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.3% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.7% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance12.1% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,022 · 202475th percentile
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- 69.9 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 rent25.4% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 49.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.8% · 2020 to 202462nd 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 Laurens 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 Laurens County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Laurens County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Laurens County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Laurens County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Laurens County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 16.2% in 2012 to 17.8% in 2013; 18.9% in 2019 to 20.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Laurens County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.5%
High on the chart: 20.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Laurens County, Georgia.
How Laurens County has changed
Laurens County's population rose by about half to 50,287, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 37,384. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Laurens County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Laurens County rose by about a quarter to 20,291, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 19,376. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Laurens County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.2% | 2024 20.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,631 | 2024 $58,022 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Laurens County's history
1807
Laurens County was formed on December 10, 1807, from portions of Wilkinson and Washington Counties. Wikipedia
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $1.4 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A thunderstorm in May 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 49,570, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Laurens County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Laurens County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Laurens County, one scores higher. Of the group, Laurens County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Johnson County gets the largest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkinson County, GA | 96 | 20.6% | 36.8% |
| Laurens County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.8% |
| Dodge County, GA | 87 | 18.2% | 36.6% |
| Treutlen County, GA | 85 | 22.9% | 35.5% |
| Johnson County, GA | 80 | 33.4% | 43.1% |
| Bleckley County, GA | 80 | 17.6% | 31.4% |
| Wheeler County, GA | 75 | 35.0% | 41.4% |
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 Laurens County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Laurens County's poverty rate was 20.3% in 2024, 56th 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, Laurens County ranks 52nd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Laurens 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 Laurens 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 Laurens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.