Benefit checks make up 42 cents of every dollar of income in Webster County, Georgia
In Webster County, 42.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Webster County's score
In Webster County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.4. About three in five people (56.4%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Webster 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.
Webster County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (15.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.4% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 82.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.4% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people299.5 · 202590th percentile
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- 80.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.7% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.8% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance21.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,171 · 202489th percentile
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- 58.8 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 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 52.7 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 rent14.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th 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 Webster 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 Webster County, 19.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Webster County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Webster County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 42.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Webster County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42.0%; 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 Webster County getting SNAP food aid tripled to 28.7%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 16.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Webster County, Georgia.
How Webster County has changed
Webster County's population had its largest drop, from 2,772 in 2009 to 2,511 in 2014.
Webster County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 2,772 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Webster County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Webster County rose most sharply from its first year (366 in 1990) to 428 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Webster County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 518 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Webster County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.7% | 2024 19.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,381 | 2024 $51,171 |
The table uses 3.9% 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 Webster County's history
1856
Created December 16, 1853 as Kinchafoonee County; name changed to Webster by legislative act on February 21, 1856, from eastern portions of Stewart County. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 6,618. The 2020 Census counted 2,348, 35% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A tornado in March 2007 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Webster County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Webster County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Webster County score higher than it does. Of the group, Webster County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (42.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terrell County, GA | 99 | 27.3% | 34.3% |
| Sumter County, GA | 97 | 27.6% | 34.5% |
| Randolph County, GA | 97 | 25.9% | 40.8% |
| Stewart County, GA | 91 | 30.6% | 38.4% |
| Marion County, GA | 89 | 22.1% | 36.1% |
| Webster County, GA | 86 | 19.7% | 42.0% |
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 Webster County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Webster County's poverty rate was 19.7% in 2024, 60th 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, Webster County ranks 68th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Webster 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 Webster 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 Webster County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.