About one in four people in Toombs County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Toombs County, 22.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Toombs County's score
In Toombs County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 87.3. About one in three children (35.0%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 96% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 80.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Toombs 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.
Toombs County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (118.3, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.8% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line35.0% · 202496th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance16.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,482 · 202487th percentile
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- 80.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.5% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.0% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 68.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.5% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people118.3 · 202546th percentile
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- 65.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.2% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
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- 60.2 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.9% · fiscal year 202770th 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 Toombs 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 Toombs County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Toombs County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Toombs County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Toombs County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Toombs County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 24.6% in 2018 to 21.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Toombs County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 22.5%
Low on the chart: 18.4% 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, Toombs County, Georgia.
How Toombs County has changed
Toombs County's population rose 45% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 21,324. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Toombs County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Toombs County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 11,971, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 11,994 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Toombs County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.5% | 2024 22.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,897 | 2024 $52,482 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Toombs County's history
1905
Founded as the 144th county in Georgia by the State Legislature on August 18, 1905. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in May 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Lightning in July 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 27,223. The 2020 Census counted 27,030, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Toombs County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Toombs County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Toombs County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Toombs County ranks 3rd of the seven; Treutlen County is highest, at 35.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emanuel County, GA | 88 | 22.1% | 35.3% |
| Toombs County, GA | 86 | 22.8% | 33.6% |
| Treutlen County, GA | 85 | 22.9% | 35.5% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 83 | 18.7% | 33.1% |
| Tattnall County, GA | 80 | 24.1% | 30.4% |
| Appling County, GA | 76 | 16.9% | 28.3% |
| Montgomery County, GA | 72 | 20.7% | 30.1% |
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 Toombs County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Toombs County's poverty rate was 22.8% in 2024, 33rd 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, Toombs County ranks 64th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Toombs 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 Toombs 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 Toombs County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.