Unemployment in Rabun County, Georgia, is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties
In Rabun County, 3.3% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rabun County's score
In Rabun County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 54.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 28.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 57.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rabun 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, Rabun County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (13.9%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (23.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.9 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent23.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.7% · fiscal year 202728th percentile
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- 53.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.7% · 202437th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.8% · 202453rd percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance13.9% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,231 · 202435th percentile
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- 40.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.6% · second quarter of 202639th percentile
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- 35.2 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 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.6% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 28.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.3% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people57.3 · 202513th 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 Rabun 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 Rabun County, 28.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rabun County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rabun County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 17% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Rabun County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Rabun County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 8.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rabun County, Georgia.
How Rabun County has changed
Rabun County's population doubled to 17,711, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 14,798. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rabun County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Rabun County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 6,162 in 2005 to 4,634 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Rabun County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 5,714
High on the chart: 6,162 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rabun County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.6% | 2024 11.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,179 | 2024 $72,231 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rabun County's history
1819
Georgia General Assembly created the county December 21, 1819, becoming Georgia's forty-seventh county. Wikipedia
2006
Fruit of the Loom announced closure of Rabun Apparel plant in March 2006, laying off all 930 employees. Wikipedia
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 16,883, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
Lightning in July 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rabun County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rabun County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Rabun County, in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rabun County ranks 4th of the six; Clay County is highest, at 41.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oconee County, SC | 52 | 16.1% | 27.3% |
| Towns County, GA | 50 | 11.1% | 39.2% |
| Habersham County, GA | 44 | 13.6% | 28.3% |
| Clay County, NC | 43 | 11.5% | 41.5% |
| Macon County, NC | 39 | 12.2% | 32.6% |
| Rabun County, GA | 37 | 11.7% | 29.9% |
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 Rabun County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Rabun County's poverty rate was 11.7% in 2024, 125th 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, Rabun County ranks 149th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rabun 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 Rabun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.