About two in five people with a credit file in Tift County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Tift County, 38.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tift County's score
In Tift County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 623.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 80.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tift 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.
Tift County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (11.9%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.1% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people623.3 · 202599th percentile
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- 80.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.6% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 70.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.5% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance14.5% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,048 · 202477th percentile
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- 45.5 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 rent15.9% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.1% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 44.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st 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 Tift 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 Tift County, 15.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tift County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tift County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Tift County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tift County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.3% in 2017 to 14.5% in 2018.
The share of households in Tift County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 17.7%
Low on the chart: 14.0% 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, Tift County, Georgia.
How Tift County has changed
Tift County's population had its largest rise, from 27,269 in 1969 to 30,313 in 1974.
Tift County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41,708, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 38,622. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tift County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Tift County rose by about a quarter to 21,569, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 17,990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tift County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.1% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,786 | 2024 $57,048 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Tift County's history
1872
Henry Harding Tift founded Tifton in 1872, established sawmill and village for workers. Wikipedia
1905
Created August 17, 1905. Wikipedia
2000
A tornado in February 2000 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Lightning in June 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 41,344, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tift County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tift County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Tift County, four score higher. Of the group, Tift County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Turner County gets the largest, at 39.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worth County, GA | 97 | 26.4% | 30.0% |
| Turner County, GA | 94 | 25.2% | 39.0% |
| Cook County, GA | 89 | 16.6% | 32.7% |
| Colquitt County, GA | 86 | 22.2% | 30.9% |
| Tift County, GA | 79 | 19.3% | 27.0% |
| Berrien County, GA | 79 | 18.0% | 33.2% |
| Irwin County, GA | 74 | 19.0% | 28.3% |
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 Tift County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Tift County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 64th 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, Tift County ranks 90th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tift 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.
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 Tift County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.