About one in four people with a credit file in Morgan County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Morgan County, 26.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 62% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Morgan County's score
In Morgan County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 67.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 186.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 71% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 59.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Morgan 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.
Morgan County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and median household income ($77,822, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.7% · August 202562nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people186.4 · 202571st percentile
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- 59.4 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 rent21.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202747th percentile
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- 58.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.5% · second quarter of 202643rd percentile
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- 40.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.6% · 202427th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.4% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance11.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,822 · 202423rd percentile
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- 29.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.0% · 2020 to 202451st 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 Morgan 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 Morgan County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Morgan County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Morgan County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Morgan County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Morgan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.9% in 2022 to 12.5% in 2023.
The share of households in Morgan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 11.3%
Low on the chart: 10.7% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Morgan County, Georgia.
How Morgan County has changed
Morgan County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 19,754 in 2019 to 21,940 in 2024.
Morgan County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21,940, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 11,211. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Morgan County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Morgan County doubled to 9,071, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 9,071. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Morgan County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.5% | 2024 10.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,054 | 2024 $77,822 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Morgan County's history
1807
Created December 10, 1807. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 20,143. The 2020 Census counted 20,097, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
A tornado in June 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Morgan County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Morgan County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Morgan County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Morgan County ranks 4th of the seven; Newton County is highest, at 25.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton County, GA | 90 | 11.9% | 25.2% |
| Jasper County, GA | 74 | 13.2% | 24.7% |
| Walton County, GA | 68 | 9.8% | 19.3% |
| Putnam County, GA | 67 | 13.5% | 24.6% |
| Morgan County, GA | 51 | 10.6% | 20.8% |
| Greene County, GA | 42 | 13.6% | 20.7% |
| Oconee County, GA | 1 | 5.7% | 10.8% |
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 Morgan County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Morgan County's poverty rate was 10.6% in 2024, 135th 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, Morgan County ranks 131st of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Morgan 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 Morgan 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 Morgan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.