In Monroe County, Georgia, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Monroe County, 17.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 78.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 26.4. Unemployment averaged 3.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monroe 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.
Even so, Monroe County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (254.7, 2025) and people with a car or retail loan behind (7.7%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.9% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people254.7 · 202585th percentile
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- 74.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.8% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 33.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.5% · 202426th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.0% · 202433rd percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,431 · 202418th percentile
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- 27.0 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th percentile
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- 26.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.7% · 2020 to 202437th 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monroe County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Monroe County had its largest rise, from 7.6% in 1969 to 12.0% in 1974.
In Monroe County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 20.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Monroe County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.8% in 2011 to 14.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 5.9%
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 7.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Monroe County, Georgia.
How Monroe County has changed
Monroe County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 27,692 in 2019 to 31,437 in 2024.
Monroe County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31,437, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 26,644. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monroe County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County rose by about half to 8,368, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 8,368 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monroe County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,154 | 2024 $81,431 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Monroe County's history
1821
Created May 15, 1821. Wikipedia
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 27,957, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
A tornado in April 2020 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monroe County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Monroe County score higher than it does. Of the group, Monroe County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Upson County gets the largest, at 31.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bibb County, GA | 99 | 23.4% | 31.0% |
| Upson County, GA | 92 | 16.3% | 31.5% |
| Crawford County, GA | 79 | 14.4% | 28.2% |
| Jasper County, GA | 74 | 13.2% | 24.7% |
| Butts County, GA | 66 | 13.4% | 28.7% |
| Lamar County, GA | 66 | 12.6% | 27.8% |
| Jones County, GA | 56 | 11.7% | 24.1% |
| Monroe County, GA | 46 | 10.5% | 20.0% |
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 Monroe County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 10.5% in 2024, 136th 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, Monroe County ranks 137th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.