About one in three people with a credit file in Paulding County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Paulding County, 32.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 81% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Paulding County's score
In Paulding County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 283.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 71.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Paulding 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.
Paulding County does better than most counties on two measures: people below the poverty line (6.6%, 2024) and median household income ($95,196, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.9% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people283.4 · 202589th percentile
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- 71.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.5% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 53.3 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 rent16.8% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 33.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 19.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.6% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.1% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$95,196 · 20247th 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 Paulding 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 Paulding County, 11.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Paulding County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Paulding County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 16.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Paulding County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Paulding County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.6% in 2016 to 9.7% in 2017.
The share of households in Paulding County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 4.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Paulding County, Georgia.
How Paulding County has changed
Paulding County's population had its largest rise, from 106,350 in 2004 to 140,761 in 2009.
Paulding County's population grew to more than ten times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 188,549, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 25,151. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Paulding County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Paulding County had its largest rise in the last span, from 24,893 in 2020 to 30,869 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Paulding County grew to about six times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 30,869, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 18,644. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Paulding County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 6.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,745 | 2024 $95,196 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Paulding County's history
1828
When gold was discovered in Georgia in 1828, it began what was known as the Georgia Gold Rush. Paulding County was soon separated into 40-acre gold lots during the Gold Lottery of 1832 and people came from other parts of Georgia and other states to seek gold. Wikipedia
1830
The Indian Removal Act was signed by president Andrew Jackson, effectively removing the Native Americans to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River on the Trail of Tears. Wikipedia
1832
Created from Cherokee County December 3, 1832, portions used to help create Polk County in 1851. Wikipedia
2004
Lightning in May 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in September 2009 did $2.48 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 168,661, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
Lightning in September 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Paulding County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Paulding County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Paulding County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Paulding County ranks 6th of the seven; Polk County is highest, at 32.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County, GA | 85 | 13.3% | 22.9% |
| Polk County, GA | 85 | 15.3% | 32.1% |
| Douglas County, GA | 81 | 10.7% | 23.0% |
| Bartow County, GA | 64 | 10.7% | 21.4% |
| Haralson County, GA | 63 | 13.7% | 27.6% |
| Paulding County, GA | 54 | 6.6% | 16.5% |
| Cobb County, GA | 44 | 8.7% | 12.3% |
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 Paulding County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Paulding County's poverty rate was 6.6% in 2024, 155th 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, Paulding County ranks 129th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Paulding 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 Paulding 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 Paulding County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.