About three in ten people in Macon County, Georgia, live below the poverty line
In Macon County, 29.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Macon County's score
In Macon County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.9. About three in five people (62.5%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 89.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Macon 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.
Macon County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.4% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score62.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 89.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line29.9% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line37.6% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance24.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,111 · 2024top 5%
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- 83.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 80.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.8% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people169.2 · 202566th percentile
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- 58.9 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 rent13.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.3% · fiscal year 202791st 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 Macon 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 Macon County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Macon County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Macon County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 24.8% in 2004 to 31.1% in 2009.
In Macon County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Macon County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Macon County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.5% in 2010 to 19.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Macon County getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 27.1%
High on the chart: 27.7% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Macon County, Georgia.
How Macon County has changed
Macon County's population had its largest drop, from 14,842 in 2009 to 13,533 in 2014.
Macon County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 14,842 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Macon County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Macon County fell 37% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 3,165. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Macon County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 32.0% | 2024 29.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,566 | 2024 $44,111 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Macon County's history
1861
During the Civil War, 13,000 Union soldiers who were prisoners of war died at the Confederate camp in Andersonville, Georgia from starvation and disease. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 17,667. The 2020 Census counted 12,082, 68% of the peak. Census Bureau
1971
A tornado in April 1971 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in March 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Macon County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Macon County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Macon County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Macon County ranks 5th of the seven; Dooly County is highest, at 36.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter County, GA | 97 | 27.6% | 34.5% |
| Macon County, GA | 95 | 29.9% | 29.3% |
| Taylor County, GA | 94 | 25.1% | 36.3% |
| Dooly County, GA | 85 | 25.6% | 36.7% |
| Peach County, GA | 84 | 17.7% | 32.7% |
| Schley County, GA | 67 | 15.4% | 26.2% |
| Houston County, GA | 61 | 11.9% | 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 Macon County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Macon County's poverty rate was 29.9% in 2024, 6th 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, Macon County ranks 25th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Macon 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 Macon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.