About two in five people with a credit file in Peach County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Peach County, 38.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Peach County's score
In Peach County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 91.6. Late payments on loans come next, at 88.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Peach 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.
Peach County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (19.9%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.3% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people302 · 202591st percentile
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- 88.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.5% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.4% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 73.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.7% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.2% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance12.1% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,005 · 202461st percentile
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- 53.4 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 45.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th 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 Peach 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 Peach County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Peach County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Peach County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 32.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Peach County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Peach County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.1% in 2011 to 24.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Peach County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 16.0% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Peach County, Georgia.
How Peach County has changed
Peach County's population doubled to 29,213, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 27,474. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Peach County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Peach County rose 44% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 10,790. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Peach County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.0% | 2024 17.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,642 | 2024 $63,005 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Peach County's history
1935
Blue Bird Corporation, a large manufacturer of activity buses and school buses, opened its first Fort Valley facility in 1935. Wikipedia
1975
A tornado in February 1975 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in March 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in August 2005 did $2.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 27,981, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Peach County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Peach County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Peach County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Peach County ranks 2nd of the five; Taylor County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macon County, GA | 95 | 29.9% | 29.3% |
| Taylor County, GA | 94 | 25.1% | 36.3% |
| Peach County, GA | 84 | 17.7% | 32.7% |
| Crawford County, GA | 79 | 14.4% | 28.2% |
| Houston County, GA | 61 | 11.9% | 23.8% |
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 Peach County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Peach County's poverty rate was 17.7% in 2024, 75th 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, Peach County ranks 75th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Peach 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.
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 Peach County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.