About one in two people with a credit file in Richmond County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Richmond County, 45.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Richmond County's score
In Richmond County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 96.8. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 93.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Richmond 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.
Richmond County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.6% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.9% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.3% · second quarter of 202695th percentile
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- 93.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector45.2% · August 202598th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people269.7 · 202587th percentile
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- 92.5 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 rent27.5% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.5% · fiscal year 202792nd percentile
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- 80.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.0% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability19.6% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance11.8% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,961 · 202475th percentile
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- 69.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.0% · 2020 to 202468th 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 Richmond 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 Richmond County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Richmond County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Richmond County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 31.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Richmond County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Richmond County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.8% in 2021 to 20.6% in 2022.
The share of households in Richmond County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 21.1%
High on the chart: 22.2% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Richmond County, Georgia.
How Richmond County has changed
Richmond County's population rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 159,833 in 1974 to 179,438 in 1979.
Richmond County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 206,303
High on the chart: 206,606 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Richmond County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Richmond County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 105,357 in 2005 to 97,612 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Richmond County rose 4% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 106,981 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Richmond County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.6% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,497 | 2024 $57,961 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Richmond County's history
1777
Created February 5, 1777 as one of the original counties of Georgia. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A thunderstorm in July 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in April 2009 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 206,607, 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 1977
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Richmond County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Richmond County beside its neighbors
Richmond County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Georgia and South Carolina. For the share of income from benefit checks, Richmond County ranks 4th of the seven; Jefferson County is highest, at 38.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond County, GA | 98 | 19.0% | 31.5% |
| Burke County, GA | 97 | 24.2% | 33.2% |
| McDuffie County, GA | 96 | 19.6% | 34.6% |
| Jefferson County, GA | 93 | 21.5% | 38.1% |
| Edgefield County, SC | 70 | 16.8% | 29.3% |
| Aiken County, SC | 68 | 13.7% | 26.1% |
| Columbia County, GA | 30 | 6.6% | 20.0% |
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 Richmond County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Richmond County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 65th 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, Richmond County ranks 6th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Richmond 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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Csra Economic Opportunity Authority, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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NSC (NACA Counseling Subsidiary) - Augusta, GA
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Richmond 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 Richmond County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.