About two in five people with a credit file in Treutlen County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Treutlen County, 41.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Treutlen County's score
In Treutlen County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 88.7. About one in four people (22.9%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 93% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 82.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Treutlen 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.
Treutlen County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (5.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.9% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.0% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance12.8% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,171 · 202492nd percentile
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- 82.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.1% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.7% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 78.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people157.7 · 202562nd percentile
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- 64.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.2% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
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- 42.8 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 rent5.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.5% · fiscal year 202780th 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 Treutlen 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 Treutlen County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Treutlen County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Treutlen County had its largest rise, from 25.9% in 1999 to 29.6% in 2004.
In Treutlen County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 35.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Treutlen County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.5%; 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 Treutlen County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 22.3%, with most of the change between 2009 and 2010
Low on the chart: 21.9% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Treutlen County, Georgia.
How Treutlen County has changed
Treutlen County's population had its largest rise, from 6,286 in 1994 to 6,702 in 1999.
Treutlen County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2004 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 6,949 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Treutlen County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Treutlen County had its largest drop, from 1,323 in 1990 to 1,213 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Treutlen County fell 13% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 1,052 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Treutlen County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.4% | 2024 22.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,173 | 2024 $49,171 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Treutlen County's history
1918
Created November 5, 1918, made Georgia's 154th county, formed from sections of Emanuel and Montgomery counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 7,664. The 2020 Census counted 6,406, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Treutlen County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Treutlen County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Treutlen County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Treutlen County ranks 2nd of the six; Wheeler County is highest, at 41.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.8% |
| Emanuel County, GA | 88 | 22.1% | 35.3% |
| Toombs County, GA | 86 | 22.8% | 33.6% |
| Treutlen County, GA | 85 | 22.9% | 35.5% |
| Wheeler County, GA | 75 | 35.0% | 41.4% |
| 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 Treutlen County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Treutlen County's poverty rate was 22.9% in 2024, 32nd 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, Treutlen County ranks 69th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Treutlen 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 Treutlen 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 Treutlen County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.