About one in three people with a credit file in Pierce County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pierce County, 32.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pierce County's score
In Pierce County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 87.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 377 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 77.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pierce 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.
Pierce County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (7.9%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.3% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people377 · 202595th percentile
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- 77.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.3% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
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- 70.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.2% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.2% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance12.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,740 · 202478th percentile
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- 38.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 37.0 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 rent7.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202766th 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pierce County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pierce County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 32.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Pierce County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pierce County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.4% in 2010 to 17.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Pierce County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 18.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pierce County, Georgia.
How Pierce County has changed
Pierce County's population had its largest rise, from 16,755 in 2004 to 18,564 in 2009.
Pierce County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20,669, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 19,097. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pierce County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pierce County nearly doubled to 4,650, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,688. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pierce County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.3% | 2024 17.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,294 | 2024 $56,740 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Pierce County's history
1857
Created December 18, 1857, from Appling and Ware counties. Wikipedia
1986
A tornado in February 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 19,716, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pierce County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pierce County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Pierce County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pierce County ranks 3rd of the six; Ware County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware County, GA | 96 | 23.6% | 40.9% |
| Wayne County, GA | 88 | 18.6% | 32.0% |
| Bacon County, GA | 80 | 20.7% | 31.7% |
| Appling County, GA | 76 | 16.9% | 28.3% |
| Brantley County, GA | 76 | 15.6% | 33.1% |
| Pierce County, GA | 70 | 17.2% | 32.9% |
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 Pierce County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Pierce County's poverty rate was 17.2% in 2024, 83rd 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, Pierce County ranks 106th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pierce 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.