About one in four people in Pulaski County, Georgia, has a disability
In Pulaski County, 23.0% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pulaski County's score
In Pulaski County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 84.2. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 75.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pulaski 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.
Pulaski County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.2% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.9% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability23.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,495 · 202487th percentile
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- 75.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.7% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people168.4 · 202566th percentile
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- 74.6 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 rent23.1% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.9% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
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- 74.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.1% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 41.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th 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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County, 23.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pulaski County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pulaski County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Pulaski County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 23.8% in 2016 to 18.0% in 2017.
The share of households in Pulaski County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 14.9%
Low on the chart: 13.7% 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, Pulaski County, Georgia.
How Pulaski County has changed
Pulaski County's population had its largest rise, from 10,646 in 2004 to 11,903 in 2009.
Pulaski County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 11,903 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pulaski County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Pulaski County rose most sharply from its first year (2,393 in 1990) to 3,049 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Pulaski County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 3,242 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pulaski County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.7% | 2024 21.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,893 | 2024 $52,495 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Pulaski County's history
1808
Created by Georgia General Assembly on December 13, 1808, from portion of Laurens County. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 22,835. The 2020 Census counted 9,855, 43% of the peak. Census Bureau
1910
County population fell more than half 1910-1930, African Americans joined Great Migration escaping Jim Crow. Wikipedia
1995
A thunderstorm in July 1995 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Heavy rain in August 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pulaski County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pulaski County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Pulaski County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pulaski County ranks 4th of the six; Wilcox County is highest, at 38.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge County, GA | 87 | 18.2% | 36.6% |
| Dooly County, GA | 85 | 25.6% | 36.7% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 83 | 21.2% | 33.2% |
| Bleckley County, GA | 80 | 17.6% | 31.4% |
| Wilcox County, GA | 80 | 28.4% | 38.8% |
| 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 Pulaski County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Pulaski County's poverty rate was 21.2% in 2024, 50th 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, Pulaski County ranks 77th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pulaski 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 Pulaski 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 Pulaski County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.