About two in five people with a credit file in Montgomery County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Montgomery County, 39.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montgomery County's score
In Montgomery County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 78.0. About one in two people (53.3%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 86% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 77.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (7.0%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (79.9, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.3% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 77.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.7% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.8% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance13.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,914 · 202482nd percentile
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- 68.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 59.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.3% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people79.9 · 202525th percentile
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- 34.1 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 rent7.0% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202761st 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montgomery County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montgomery County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Montgomery County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.6% in 2010 to 22.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 15.5% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montgomery County, Georgia.
How Montgomery County has changed
Montgomery County's population had its largest rise, from 8,215 in 1999 to 9,040 in 2004.
Montgomery County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8,566
High on the chart: 9,136 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montgomery County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County had its largest rise, from 1,630 in 1990 to 1,827 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 1,827 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montgomery County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.3% | 2024 20.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,923 | 2024 $54,914 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Montgomery County's history
1793
Created December 19, 1793 from southern portion of Washington County. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 19,638. The 2020 Census counted 8,610, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montgomery County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montgomery County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Montgomery County score higher than it does. Of the group, Montgomery County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Wheeler County gets the largest, at 41.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toombs County, GA | 86 | 22.8% | 33.6% |
| Treutlen County, GA | 85 | 22.9% | 35.5% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 83 | 18.7% | 33.1% |
| Wheeler County, GA | 75 | 35.0% | 41.4% |
| Montgomery County, GA | 72 | 20.7% | 30.1% |
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 Montgomery County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Montgomery County's poverty rate was 20.7% in 2024, 52nd 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, Montgomery County ranks 103rd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.