About three in ten people in Stewart County, Georgia, have a disability
In Stewart County, 28.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stewart County's score
In Stewart County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 94.2. About three in ten people (30.6%, 2024) live below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 92.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stewart 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.
Stewart County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (5.4%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (4.6%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line30.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line29.5% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability28.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance22.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,023 · 2024top 5%
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- 92.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202690th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 77.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.0% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people149.8 · 202559th percentile
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- 71.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.3% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.7% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 48.3 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 rent5.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.3% · 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 Stewart 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 Stewart County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stewart County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Stewart County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 29.4% in 2004 to 38.5% in 2009.
In Stewart County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 38.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Stewart County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stewart County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 21.7% in 2011 to 30.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Stewart County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2011, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 21.7% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stewart County, Georgia.
How Stewart County has changed
Stewart County's population fell by about a quarter to 4,809, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2009 to 2014, reaching 5,303. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stewart County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Stewart County had its largest rise in the last span, from 1,421 in 2020 to 1,708 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Stewart County nearly doubled to 1,708, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 1,708 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stewart County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.3% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 33.5% | 2024 30.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,919 | 2024 $44,023 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.7% 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 Stewart County's history
1830
Created December 23, 1830, from land that had been part of Randolph County, Georgia. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 15,856. The 2020 Census counted 5,314, 34% of the peak. Census Bureau
1954
F2 tornado December 5, 1954, killed one and injured 20. Wikipedia
1954
A tornado in December 1954 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stewart County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stewart County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Stewart County, in Georgia and Alabama, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stewart County ranks 4th of the eight; Quitman County is highest, at 47.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell County, AL | 98 | 20.2% | 35.5% |
| Randolph County, GA | 97 | 25.9% | 40.8% |
| Quitman County, GA | 96 | 22.3% | 47.4% |
| Barbour County, AL | 95 | 28.1% | 38.3% |
| Stewart County, GA | 91 | 30.6% | 38.4% |
| Marion County, GA | 89 | 22.1% | 36.1% |
| Webster County, GA | 86 | 19.7% | 42.0% |
| Chattahoochee County, GA | 67 | 17.8% | 15.5% |
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 Stewart County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Stewart County's poverty rate was 30.6% in 2024, 5th 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, Stewart County ranks 38th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stewart 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 Stewart 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 Stewart County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.