About one in two people with a credit file in Taliaferro County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Taliaferro County, 46.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Taliaferro County's score
In Taliaferro County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.5. Income and the safety net comes next, at 88.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Taliaferro 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.
Taliaferro County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.0% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people310.8 · 202592nd percentile
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- 88.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.4% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line37.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability21.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance10.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,934 · 2024top 5%
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- 85.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score63.2% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 67.1 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 rent17.1% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.8% · fiscal year 202790th percentile
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- 62.7 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 202639th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.5% · 2020 to 202486th 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 Taliaferro 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 Taliaferro County, 29.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Taliaferro County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Taliaferro County had its largest rise, from 31.2% in 2004 to 40.0% in 2009.
In Taliaferro County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 36.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Taliaferro County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Taliaferro County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 21.9% in 2019 to 32.3% in 2020.
The share of households in Taliaferro County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 19.9% 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, Taliaferro County, Georgia.
How Taliaferro County has changed
Taliaferro County's population had its largest drop, from 2,486 in 1974 to 2,098 in 1979.
Taliaferro County's population fell 38% from 1969 to 2019, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 2,516 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Taliaferro County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Taliaferro County had its largest drop, from 229 in 1990 to 161 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Taliaferro County fell 16% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 1995
Low on the chart: 161 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Taliaferro County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.6% | 2024 23.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,847 | 2024 $44,934 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Taliaferro County's history
1825
Formed December 24, 1825, by Georgia Legislature from portions of five counties: Wilkes, Greene, Hancock, Oglethorpe, and Warren. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 8,841. The 2020 Census counted 1,559, 18% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Taliaferro County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Taliaferro County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Taliaferro County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Taliaferro County ranks 3rd of the six; Hancock County is highest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, GA | 99 | 30.7% | 43.1% |
| Taliaferro County, GA | 94 | 23.4% | 36.6% |
| Warren County, GA | 91 | 24.6% | 41.7% |
| Wilkes County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.7% |
| Oglethorpe County, GA | 57 | 12.2% | 22.6% |
| Greene County, GA | 42 | 13.6% | 20.7% |
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 Taliaferro County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Taliaferro County's poverty rate was 23.4% in 2024, 28th 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, Taliaferro County ranks 28th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Taliaferro 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 Taliaferro 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 Taliaferro County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.