About one in 12 people in Pike County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Pike County, 8.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pike County's score
In Pike County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 70.7. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 26.1. The typical household earns $91,280 a year (2024), more than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pike 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.
Even so, Pike County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (13.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (224.8, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.0% · August 202560th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people224.8 · 202581st percentile
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- 56.1 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 rent16.4% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 51.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.4% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.5% · second quarter of 202643rd percentile
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- 26.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202611th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.4% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
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- 26.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.4% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.2% · 202413th percentile
- People with a disability11.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance13.3% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$91,280 · 20249th 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 Pike 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 Pike County, 15.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pike County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pike County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 20.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Pike County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pike County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.7% in 2016 to 12.4% in 2017.
The share of households in Pike County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 5.2%
Low on the chart: 4.6% 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, Pike County, Georgia.
How Pike County has changed
Pike County's population tripled to 20,669, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 13,312. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pike County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pike County tripled to 3,541, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 2,768. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pike County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.9% | 2024 8.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,892 | 2024 $91,280 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Pike County's history
1822
Made from part of Monroe County in 1822. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 21,212. The 2020 Census counted 18,889, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1993
A tornado in February 1993 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pike County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pike County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Pike County score higher than it does. Of the group, Pike County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Meriwether County gets the largest, at 32.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spalding County, GA | 95 | 16.4% | 31.6% |
| Upson County, GA | 92 | 16.3% | 31.5% |
| Meriwether County, GA | 87 | 17.8% | 32.8% |
| Lamar County, GA | 66 | 12.6% | 27.8% |
| Pike County, GA | 43 | 8.4% | 20.4% |
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 Pike County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Pike County's poverty rate was 8.4% in 2024, 147th 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, Pike County ranks 144th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pike 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 Pike County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.