About three in ten people in Wilcox County, Georgia, live below the poverty line
In Wilcox County, 28.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wilcox County's score
In Wilcox County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 85.0. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wilcox 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.
Wilcox County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (9.4%, 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.
- 85.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.4% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line32.7% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance13.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,539 · 2024top 5%
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- 82.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people182.3 · 202570th percentile
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- 75.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.6% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.1% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 48.8 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 rent9.4% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.8% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 46.5 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 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.9% · 2020 to 202473rd 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 Wilcox 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 Wilcox County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wilcox County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wilcox County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 38.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Wilcox County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wilcox County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2018 low, from 20.0% in 2017 to 15.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Wilcox County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 20.2%
Low on the chart: 15.7% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wilcox County, Georgia.
How Wilcox County has changed
Wilcox County's population had its largest rise, from 7,548 in 1994 to 8,515 in 1999.
Wilcox County's population rose 29% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 9,156 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wilcox County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Wilcox County had its largest rise, from 1,339 in 1990 to 1,637 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Wilcox County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 1,637 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wilcox County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.7% | 2024 28.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,439 | 2024 $46,539 |
The table uses 3.4% 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 Wilcox County's history
1857
Formed December 22, 1857 from parts of Irwin, Pulaski, and Dooly counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 15,511. The 2020 Census counted 8,766, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
1989
A tornado in November 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wilcox County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wilcox County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Wilcox County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wilcox County ranks 3rd of the eight; Telfair County is highest, at 43.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hill County, GA | 96 | 22.2% | 35.6% |
| Crisp County, GA | 96 | 22.8% | 33.1% |
| Turner County, GA | 94 | 25.2% | 39.0% |
| Telfair County, GA | 90 | 25.7% | 43.3% |
| Dodge County, GA | 87 | 18.2% | 36.6% |
| Dooly County, GA | 85 | 25.6% | 36.7% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 83 | 21.2% | 33.2% |
| Wilcox County, GA | 80 | 28.4% | 38.8% |
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 Wilcox County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Wilcox County's poverty rate was 28.4% in 2024, 8th 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, Wilcox County ranks 88th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wilcox 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 Wilcox 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 Wilcox County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.