About three in ten people with a credit file in Bradley County, Tennessee, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bradley County, 29.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 71% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bradley County's score
In Bradley County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 84.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 400.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 59.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bradley 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.
Bradley County does better than most counties on two measures: people below the poverty line (11.6%, 2024) and median household income ($70,651, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.3% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people400.6 · 202596th percentile
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- 59.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.6% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.5% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
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- 56.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202642nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.3% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
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- 54.8 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
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- 47.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.1% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,651 · 202439th 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 Bradley 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 Bradley County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bradley County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bradley County had its largest rise, from 18.5% in 2004 to 24.1% in 2009.
In Bradley County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 25.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Bradley County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 25.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bradley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.7% in 2011 to 16.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Bradley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 12.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bradley County, Tennessee.
How Bradley County has changed
Bradley County's population had its largest rise, from 49,530 in 1969 to 59,462 in 1974.
Bradley County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 113,782, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 69,831. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bradley County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Bradley County had its largest rise, from 33,759 in 2010 to 42,117 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Bradley County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 43,511 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bradley County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.1% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,468 | 2024 $70,651 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Bradley County's history
1840
Copper mining began in Copper Basin 1840s, headquarters established in Cleveland. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 did $13.95 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $23 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 108,620, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bradley County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bradley County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Bradley County, in Tennessee and Georgia, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bradley County ranks 5th of the seven; Meigs County is highest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, TN | 77 | 14.6% | 30.8% |
| Murray County, GA | 76 | 15.7% | 29.9% |
| Meigs County, TN | 72 | 14.5% | 36.8% |
| McMinn County, TN | 71 | 13.7% | 31.6% |
| Whitfield County, GA | 69 | 14.4% | 22.9% |
| Bradley County, TN | 68 | 11.6% | 25.6% |
| Hamilton County, TN | 54 | 14.5% | 19.6% |
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 Bradley County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Bradley County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 78th highest of 95 in Tennessee (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Lake County, at 31.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Bradley County ranks 47th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bradley 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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City Fields
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Aid of East Tennessee
Legal aid
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Tennessee Justice Center
Legal aid
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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 Bradley 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 Bradley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.