About one in three people with a credit file in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Oglethorpe County, 32.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Oglethorpe County's score
In Oglethorpe County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 222.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 80% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 58.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Oglethorpe 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.
Oglethorpe County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people222.2 · 202580th percentile
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- 58.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.2% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 51.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.7% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,817 · 202452nd percentile
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- 51.4 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 rent14.4% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 32.0 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 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.5% · 2020 to 202454th 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 Oglethorpe 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 Oglethorpe 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
Oglethorpe County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Oglethorpe County had its largest rise, from 16.8% in 2004 to 21.7% in 2009.
In Oglethorpe County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Oglethorpe County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Oglethorpe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.1% in 2012 to 13.2% in 2013.
The share of households in Oglethorpe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.6% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
How Oglethorpe County has changed
Oglethorpe County's population doubled to 16,172, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 12,312. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Oglethorpe County rose 41% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 1,958 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.1% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,193 | 2024 $65,817 |
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 Oglethorpe County's history
1793
Founded December 19, 1793, originally from large tract surrendered by Creek and Cherokee in treaty of 1773. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 20,287. The 2020 Census counted 14,825, 73% of the peak. Census Bureau
1973
A tornado in March 1973 did $250 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A tornado in August 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Oglethorpe County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Oglethorpe County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Oglethorpe County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Oglethorpe County ranks 5th of the eight; Taliaferro County is highest, at 36.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taliaferro County, GA | 94 | 23.4% | 36.6% |
| Wilkes County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.7% |
| Elbert County, GA | 82 | 17.7% | 35.4% |
| Clarke County, GA | 77 | 23.5% | 20.6% |
| Madison County, GA | 66 | 11.8% | 25.2% |
| Oglethorpe County, GA | 57 | 12.2% | 22.6% |
| 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 Oglethorpe County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Oglethorpe County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 119th 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, Oglethorpe County ranks 127th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Oglethorpe 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 Oglethorpe 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 Oglethorpe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.