About two in five people with a credit file in Rockdale County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Rockdale County, 40.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rockdale County's score
In Rockdale County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 96.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 462.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 95.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rockdale 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.
Rockdale County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (12.2%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($76,560, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.1% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people462.6 · 202597th percentile
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- 95.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.1% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.9% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.0% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 89.6 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 rent25.1% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.6% · fiscal year 202792nd percentile
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- 46.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202649th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.7% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
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- 45.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.1% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability12.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- People without health insurance13.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,560 · 202426th 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 Rockdale 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 Rockdale 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
Rockdale County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rockdale County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 26.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Rockdale County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 26.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rockdale County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 8.6% in 2009 to 12.8% in 2011, 2.1 points each year.
The share of households in Rockdale County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 12.2%
Low on the chart: 8.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rockdale County, Georgia.
How Rockdale County has changed
Rockdale County's population had its largest rise, from 40,876 in 1984 to 52,316 in 1989.
Rockdale County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 97,610, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 88,359. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rockdale County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rockdale County nearly doubled to 34,821, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 27,349. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rockdale County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.5% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $38,434 | 2024 $76,560 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rockdale County's history
1870
Formed on October 18, 1870 from the northern portion of Newton County and parts of Henry, Walton, Gwinnett, and DeKalb counties. Wikipedia
1960
Milstead mill closed in the 1960s, ending cotton production and shipping. Wikipedia
2007
Hail in June 2007 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Hail in March 2008 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Hail in March 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in September 2009 did $2.01 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 93,570, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rockdale County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rockdale County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Rockdale County, one scores higher. Of the group, Rockdale County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (26.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton County, GA | 90 | 11.9% | 25.2% |
| Rockdale County, GA | 89 | 11.8% | 26.4% |
| DeKalb County, GA | 81 | 12.7% | 14.9% |
| Henry County, GA | 78 | 8.2% | 21.0% |
| Walton County, GA | 68 | 9.8% | 19.3% |
| Gwinnett County, GA | 61 | 10.4% | 16.1% |
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 Rockdale County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Rockdale County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 123rd 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, Rockdale County ranks 48th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rockdale 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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The Homeowners Employment Corporation
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 Rockdale 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 Rockdale County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.