About one in two people with a credit file in Warren County, Georgia, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Warren County, 46.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Warren County's score
In Warren County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 81.8. People with a credit card behind: 13.9%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 78.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Warren 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.
Warren County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (14.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind13.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.6% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.1% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 78.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people156.7 · 202562nd percentile
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- 75.4 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 rent20.4% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.9% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 73.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line38.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance7.7% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,385 · 2024top 5%
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- 71.7 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 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.8% · 2020 to 202486th 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 Warren 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 Warren County, 23.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Warren County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Warren County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 41.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Warren County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 31.1% in 2021 to 25.8% in 2022.
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 22.3%
Low on the chart: 17.1% 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, Warren County, Georgia.
How Warren County has changed
Warren County's population fell by about a quarter to 5,148, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 6,255. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Warren County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Warren County rose most sharply after its 2010 low, from 1,068 in 2010 to 1,462 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Warren County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 1,756 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Warren County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.5% | 2024 24.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,715 | 2024 $46,385 |
The table uses 4.1% 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 Warren County's history
1773
Beall Springs grew up around mineral springs used by Native Americans long before the state acquired the land in 1773. New Georgia Encyclopedia
1812
In 1812 Thomas Cheely bought the property and erected a gristmill on it. New Georgia Encyclopedia
1868
The first rural, free mail delivery occurred in Norwood in 1868, when six residents hired Jerry Parsons, an African American, to deliver their mail on a daily basis, paying for his food and clothing in exchange. New Georgia Encyclopedia
1888
Norwood developed around a gristmill owned by Radford Gunn, and the community was known as Gunn’s Mill until 1888. New Georgia Encyclopedia
1893
In 1893 Watson sponsored the first rural free-delivery bill, based on Parsons’s pioneering efforts. New Georgia Encyclopedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 11,860. The 2020 Census counted 5,215, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Warren County. FEMA
Warren County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Warren County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Warren County ranks 2nd of the seven; Hancock County is highest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, GA | 99 | 30.7% | 43.1% |
| McDuffie County, GA | 96 | 19.6% | 34.6% |
| Taliaferro County, GA | 94 | 23.4% | 36.6% |
| Jefferson County, GA | 93 | 21.5% | 38.1% |
| Warren County, GA | 91 | 24.6% | 41.7% |
| Wilkes County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.7% |
| Glascock County, GA | 61 | 16.4% | 33.8% |
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 Warren County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Warren County's poverty rate was 24.6% in 2024, 21st 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, Warren County ranks 41st of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Warren 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 Warren 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 Warren County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.