About two in five people with a credit file in Lowndes County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lowndes County, 36.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lowndes County's score
In Lowndes County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 419.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 80.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lowndes 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.
Lowndes County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.1%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.8% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people419.2 · 202596th percentile
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- 80.7 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 rent25.0% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 79.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.9% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 66.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.5% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability13.1% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance14.3% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,185 · 202470th percentile
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- 58.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.6% · 2020 to 202476th 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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County, 13.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lowndes County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lowndes County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 26.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lowndes County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lowndes County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (11.6% in 2009) to 13.6% in 2010.
The share of households in Lowndes County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 16.2%
Low on the chart: 11.6% 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, Lowndes County, Georgia.
How Lowndes County has changed
Lowndes County's population had its largest rise, from 96,510 in 2004 to 107,583 in 2009.
Lowndes County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 122,082, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 75,156. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lowndes County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lowndes County rose by more than half to 49,349, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 44,012. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lowndes County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.2% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,309 | 2024 $60,185 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Lowndes County's history
1825
Established by act of Georgia legislature December 23, 1825, formed from 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 15th, and 16th land districts of Irwin County. Wikipedia
2003
Lightning in August 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
Lightning in September 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 118,251, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A thunderstorm in March 2024 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in November 2024 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lowndes County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lowndes County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Lowndes County, in Georgia and Florida, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lowndes County ranks 7th of the eight; Hamilton County is highest, at 42.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, FL | 98 | 25.3% | 42.3% |
| Brooks County, GA | 98 | 19.4% | 34.3% |
| Madison County, FL | 92 | 19.6% | 36.6% |
| Lowndes County, GA | 90 | 18.1% | 26.3% |
| Cook County, GA | 89 | 16.6% | 32.7% |
| Lanier County, GA | 88 | 17.3% | 32.4% |
| Berrien County, GA | 79 | 18.0% | 33.2% |
| Echols County, GA | 64 | 22.2% | 24.1% |
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 Lowndes County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Lowndes County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 71st 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, Lowndes County ranks 42nd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lowndes 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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.