About one in four people in Terrell County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Terrell County, 27.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Terrell County's score
In Terrell County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 435.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 88.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Terrell 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.
Terrell County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.4% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people435.9 · 2025top 5%
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- 88.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line27.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line43.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability18.1% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- People without health insurance14.5% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,663 · 2024top 5%
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- 87.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.1% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 87.2 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 working33.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 76.6 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 rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.4% · fiscal year 202794th 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 Terrell 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 Terrell County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Terrell County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Terrell County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 39% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Terrell County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Terrell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 30.9% in 2023 to 24.4% in 2024.
The share of households in Terrell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 21.8% 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, Terrell County, Georgia.
How Terrell County has changed
Terrell County's population had its largest drop, from 11,699 in 1984 to 10,816 in 1989.
Terrell County's population fell by about a quarter to 8,698, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 12,048 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Terrell County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Terrell County had its largest drop, from 2,352 in 2015 to 1,878 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Terrell County fell 28% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 1,878 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Terrell County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.3% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 32.8% | 2024 27.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,968 | 2024 $46,663 |
The table uses 5.3% 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 Terrell County's history
1856
Formed February 16, 1856 from portions of Randolph and Lee counties. Wikipedia
1861
Fosterville refugee settlement established during Civil War. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 22,003. The 2020 Census counted 9,185, 42% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1994
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Terrell County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Terrell County beside its neighbors
Terrell County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Terrell County ranks 6th of the seven; Calhoun County is highest, at 44.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dougherty County, GA | 99 | 23.6% | 34.8% |
| Terrell County, GA | 99 | 27.3% | 34.3% |
| Sumter County, GA | 97 | 27.6% | 34.5% |
| Randolph County, GA | 97 | 25.9% | 40.8% |
| Calhoun County, GA | 87 | 36.8% | 44.7% |
| Webster County, GA | 86 | 19.7% | 42.0% |
| Lee County, GA | 45 | 9.7% | 19.9% |
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 Terrell County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Terrell County's poverty rate was 27.3% in 2024, 11th 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, Terrell County ranks 5th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Terrell 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 Terrell 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 Terrell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.