About one in five people in Miller County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Miller County, 20.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Miller County's score
In Miller County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.9%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 84.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Miller 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.
Miller County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.0% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score58.5% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 84.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.6% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people295.8 · 202590th percentile
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- 84.4 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 rent28.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
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- 82.3 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 line29.5% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability19.8% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance9.6% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,502 · 202489th percentile
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- 47.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.1% · 2020 to 202481st 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 Miller 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 Miller County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Miller County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Miller County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Miller County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Miller County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.1% in 2011 to 21.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Miller County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 17.5% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Miller County, Georgia.
How Miller County has changed
Miller County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1979 high, from 6,537 in 1974 to 6,824 in 1979.
Miller County's population fell 9% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 6,824 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Miller County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Miller County rose by more than half to 1,940, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 1,541. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Miller County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.7% | 2024 20.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,536 | 2024 $51,502 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Miller County's history
1856
Created February 26, 1856. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 9,998. The 2020 Census counted 6,000, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
1955
A tornado in October 1955 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in March 2005 did $5.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Miller County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Miller County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Miller County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Miller County ranks 3rd of the five; Early County is highest, at 36.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early County, GA | 98 | 26.7% | 36.0% |
| Decatur County, GA | 94 | 21.7% | 28.7% |
| Seminole County, GA | 94 | 22.5% | 34.2% |
| Baker County, GA | 93 | 24.1% | 29.9% |
| Miller County, GA | 93 | 20.3% | 33.8% |
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 Miller County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Miller 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, Miller County ranks 35th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Miller 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 Miller 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 Miller County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.