About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Seminole County, Georgia, is not working
In Seminole County, 33.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Seminole County's score
In Seminole County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 90.2. About one in three children (34.7%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 87.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Seminole 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.
Seminole County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.5% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line34.7% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability19.8% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance14.8% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,963 · 2024top 5%
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- 87.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.7% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people363 · 202594th percentile
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- 83.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 79.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.5% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 54.1 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.4% · fiscal year 202791st 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 Seminole 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 Seminole County, 25.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Seminole County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Seminole County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Seminole County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Seminole County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 18.8% in 2012 to 22.6% in 2013; 23.3% in 2017 to 19.5% in 2018.
The share of households in Seminole County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 21.3%
Low on the chart: 14.1% 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, Seminole County, Georgia.
How Seminole County has changed
Seminole County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9,274, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 9,343 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Seminole County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Seminole County had its largest drop, from 2,639 in 2000 to 2,343 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Seminole County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 2,639 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Seminole County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.1% | 2024 22.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,160 | 2024 $43,963 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Seminole County's history
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 9,369. The 2020 Census counted 9,147, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2002
A flash flood in September 2002 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in March 2005 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Lightning in April 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Seminole County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Seminole County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Seminole County, in Georgia, Florida and Alabama, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Seminole County ranks 3rd of the seven; Jackson County is highest, at 39.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gadsden County, FL | 99 | 20.7% | 30.7% |
| Early County, GA | 98 | 26.7% | 36.0% |
| Decatur County, GA | 94 | 21.7% | 28.7% |
| Seminole County, GA | 94 | 22.5% | 34.2% |
| Miller County, GA | 93 | 20.3% | 33.8% |
| Jackson County, FL | 88 | 19.4% | 39.2% |
| Houston County, AL | 77 | 17.0% | 27.5% |
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 Seminole County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Seminole County's poverty rate was 22.5% in 2024, 36th 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, Seminole County ranks 32nd of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Seminole 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 Seminole 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 Seminole County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.