Benefit checks make up 43 cents of every dollar of income in Telfair County, Georgia
In Telfair County, 43.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Telfair County's score
In Telfair County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 90.6. About one in four people (25.7%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 90.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Telfair 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.
Telfair County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.3%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (17.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.7% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line31.4% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability19.0% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance20.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,257 · 2024top 5%
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- 90.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score62.4% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 82.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.2% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people183.2 · 202570th percentile
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- 56.7 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.6% · fiscal year 202789th percentile
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- 54.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.1% · 2020 to 202427th 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 Telfair 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 Telfair County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Telfair County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Telfair County had its largest rise, from 31.8% in 2004 to 37.8% in 2009.
In Telfair County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 43.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Telfair County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Telfair County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 27.9%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 24.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Telfair County, Georgia.
How Telfair County has changed
Telfair County's population had its largest rise, from 11,747 in 1999 to 14,685 in 2004.
Telfair County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 16,200 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Telfair County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Telfair County fell by about half to 2,120, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 4,501 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Telfair County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.3% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.3% | 2024 25.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,042 | 2024 $45,257 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Telfair County's history
1957
A tornado in April 1957 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 16,500. The 2020 Census counted 12,477, 76% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Telfair County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Telfair County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Telfair County, one scores higher. Of the group, Telfair County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (43.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hill County, GA | 96 | 22.2% | 35.6% |
| Telfair County, GA | 90 | 25.7% | 43.3% |
| Coffee County, GA | 88 | 23.3% | 29.3% |
| Dodge County, GA | 87 | 18.2% | 36.6% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 83 | 18.7% | 33.1% |
| Wilcox County, GA | 80 | 28.4% | 38.8% |
| Wheeler County, GA | 75 | 35.0% | 41.4% |
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 Telfair County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Telfair County's poverty rate was 25.7% in 2024, 15th 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, Telfair County ranks 45th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Telfair 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 Telfair 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 Telfair County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.