About two in five people with a credit file in Wilkinson County, Georgia, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wilkinson County, 39.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wilkinson County's score
In Wilkinson County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 366.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 91.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wilkinson 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.
Wilkinson County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.0% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people366.8 · 202594th percentile
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- 91.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind13.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score51.8% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 80.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.6% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.8% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance10.0% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,374 · 202487th percentile
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- 76.6 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 rent23.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 68.2 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 working26.5% · 2020 to 202479th 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 Wilkinson 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 Wilkinson County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wilkinson County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wilkinson County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 36.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Wilkinson County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 36.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wilkinson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.4% in 2012 to 13.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Wilkinson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen to 15.3%
Low on the chart: 9.4% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wilkinson County, Georgia.
How Wilkinson County has changed
Wilkinson County's population had its largest rise, from 9,425 in 1969 to 9,944 in 1974.
Wilkinson County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 10,439 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wilkinson County, Georgia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wilkinson County fell 14% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 3,378 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wilkinson County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.8% | 2024 20.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,891 | 2024 $52,374 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Wilkinson County's history
1803
Created May 11, 1803. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 11,440. The 2020 Census counted 8,877, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
1916
Deposits of kaolin were found near Gordon around 1916, and the mining and refining industry that developed around the mineral’s source gave the county a new revenue stream to join those derived from agriculture and pulpwood plantations. New Georgia Encyclopedia
2015
A thunderstorm in July 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
According to the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Wilkinson County was 8,877, a decrease from the 2010 population of 9,563. New Georgia Encyclopedia
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Since 1977
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wilkinson County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wilkinson County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wilkinson County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wilkinson County ranks 3rd of the seven; Johnson County is highest, at 43.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twiggs County, GA | 97 | 20.1% | 37.4% |
| Wilkinson County, GA | 96 | 20.6% | 36.8% |
| Baldwin County, GA | 95 | 21.5% | 32.4% |
| Washington County, GA | 95 | 25.1% | 33.4% |
| Laurens County, GA | 89 | 20.3% | 30.8% |
| Johnson County, GA | 80 | 33.4% | 43.1% |
| Jones County, GA | 56 | 11.7% | 24.1% |
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 Wilkinson County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Wilkinson County's poverty rate was 20.6% in 2024, 54th 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, Wilkinson County ranks 16th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wilkinson 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 Wilkinson 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 Wilkinson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.