About one in four people in Worth County, Georgia, lives below the poverty line
In Worth County, 26.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Worth County's score
In Worth County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 91.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 389.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 90.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Worth 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.
Worth County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.7% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people389.7 · 202595th percentile
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- 90.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.5% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.7% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.5% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 88.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line26.4% · 202497th percentile
- Children below the poverty line37.7% · 202497th percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance12.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,414 · 202489th percentile
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- 84.9 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 rent24.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.7% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 57.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.4% · 2020 to 202485th 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 Worth 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 Worth County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Worth County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Worth County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Worth County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Worth County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 21.4% in 2019 to 18.2% in 2020.
The share of households in Worth County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 21.4%
Low on the chart: 14.7% 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, Worth County, Georgia.
How Worth County has changed
Worth County's population rose most sharply from its first year (14,763 in 1969) to 17,069 in 1974.
Worth County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 22,067 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Worth County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Worth County had its largest drop, from 3,248 in 2015 to 2,944 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Worth County fell 10% from 1990 to 2020, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 3,500 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Worth County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.3% | 2024 26.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,043 | 2024 $51,414 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Worth County's history
1853
Created December 20, 1853, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from Dooly and Irwin counties, becoming Georgia's 106th county. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 23,863. The 2020 Census counted 20,784, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
A tornado in March 1996 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in March 2003 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flood in February 2013 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in January 2017 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Worth County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Worth County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Worth County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Worth County ranks 6th of the eight; Turner County is highest, at 39.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dougherty County, GA | 99 | 23.6% | 34.8% |
| Mitchell County, GA | 98 | 23.0% | 30.6% |
| Worth County, GA | 97 | 26.4% | 30.0% |
| Crisp County, GA | 96 | 22.8% | 33.1% |
| Turner County, GA | 94 | 25.2% | 39.0% |
| Colquitt County, GA | 86 | 22.2% | 30.9% |
| Tift County, GA | 79 | 19.3% | 27.0% |
| Lee County, GA | 45 | 9.7% | 19.9% |
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 Worth County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Worth County's poverty rate was 26.4% in 2024, 13th 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, Worth County ranks 15th of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Worth 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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Family Visions Outreach, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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.
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 Worth County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.