About one in three people with a credit file in Stephens County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Stephens County, 35.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stephens County's score
In Stephens County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.9%, August 2025, higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 80.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stephens 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.
Stephens County does better than most counties on one measure: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.7%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.9% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.3% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 80.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.1% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people194.7 · 202573rd percentile
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- 76.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.7% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.2% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance14.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,186 · 202475th percentile
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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 rent22.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 59.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st 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 Stephens 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 Stephens County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stephens County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Stephens County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 32.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Stephens County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stephens County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 21.6% in 2019 to 18.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Stephens 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: 9.5% 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, Stephens County, Georgia.
How Stephens County has changed
Stephens County's population rose by about a third to 27,498, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 24,626. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stephens County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Stephens County had its largest rise, from 10,313 in 1990 to 11,610 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Stephens County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 29% since
High on the chart: 11,610 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stephens County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.0% | 2024 17.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,110 | 2024 $58,186 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Stephens County's history
1905
The county was created on August 18, 1905, from parts of Franklin and Habersham counties. Wikipedia
1989
A tornado in May 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A thunderstorm in May 1990 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in September 2009 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 26,784, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stephens County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stephens County beside its neighbors
Stephens County scores higher than all four counties that border it, in Georgia and South Carolina. Of the group, Stephens County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephens County, GA | 87 | 17.7% | 32.9% |
| Franklin County, GA | 73 | 15.2% | 29.1% |
| Oconee County, SC | 52 | 16.1% | 27.3% |
| Habersham County, GA | 44 | 13.6% | 28.3% |
| Banks County, GA | 41 | 9.5% | 21.8% |
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 Stephens County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Stephens County's poverty rate was 17.7% in 2024, 75th 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, Stephens County ranks 61st of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stephens 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 Stephens 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 Stephens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.