About two in five people with a credit file in Screven County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Screven County, 44.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Screven County's score
In Screven County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.5. People with a credit card behind: 10.2%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 91.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Screven 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.
Screven County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (15.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score55.8% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 91.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector44.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people268.1 · 202587th percentile
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- 80.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.1% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.8% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance12.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,077 · 202489th percentile
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- 66.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working35.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 63.6 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 rent18.5% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th 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 Screven 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 Screven County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Screven County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Screven County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Screven County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Screven County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 19.9% in 2019 to 15.8% in 2020.
The share of households in Screven County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 12.4% 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, Screven County, Georgia.
How Screven County has changed
Screven County's population rose 12% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 15,256 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Screven County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Screven County had its largest drop, from 4,560 in 1995 to 3,831 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Screven County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 4,560 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Screven County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.6% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.8% | 2024 21.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,644 | 2024 $51,077 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Screven County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 23,552. The 2020 Census counted 14,067, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Screven County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Screven County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Screven County, in Georgia and South Carolina, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Screven County ranks 4th of the seven; Allendale County is highest, at 40.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke County, GA | 97 | 24.2% | 33.2% |
| Screven County, GA | 94 | 21.1% | 36.1% |
| Allendale County, SC | 90 | 31.6% | 40.4% |
| Jenkins County, GA | 86 | 28.8% | 36.8% |
| Hampton County, SC | 81 | 20.5% | 36.3% |
| Bulloch County, GA | 80 | 21.5% | 23.8% |
| Effingham County, GA | 45 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
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 Screven County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Screven County's poverty rate was 21.1% in 2024, 51st 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, Screven County ranks 31st of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Screven 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 Screven 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 Screven County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.