Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Carroll County, Tennessee
In Carroll County, 37.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Carroll County's score
In Carroll County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 259.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 86% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 77.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Carroll 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.
Carroll 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.
- 83.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.4% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people259.9 · 202586th percentile
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- 77.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.4% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.3% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
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- 74.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.1% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability20.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance9.9% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,245 · 202482nd percentile
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- 70.1 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 working27.3% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
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- 62.5 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 rent20.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202759th 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Carroll County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Carroll County had its largest rise, from 29.0% in 2004 to 35.6% in 2009.
In Carroll County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 38% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Carroll County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.2%; 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 Carroll County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 15.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Carroll County, Tennessee.
How Carroll County has changed
Carroll County's population rose 14% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 29,432 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Carroll County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Carroll County had its largest drop, from 9,862 in 1995 to 7,728 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Carroll County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 9,862 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Carroll County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,708 | 2024 $55,245 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Carroll County's history
1971
A tornado in May 1971 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in October 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 29,475. The 2020 Census counted 28,440, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2002
A tornado in November 2002 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in May 2010 did $4.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Carroll County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Carroll County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Carroll County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Carroll County ranks 2nd of the eight; Benton County is highest, at 39.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison County, TN | 90 | 17.5% | 25.7% |
| Carroll County, TN | 88 | 16.5% | 37.2% |
| Weakley County, TN | 79 | 17.3% | 30.4% |
| Henry County, TN | 79 | 17.1% | 29.9% |
| Benton County, TN | 77 | 17.0% | 39.7% |
| Henderson County, TN | 71 | 14.4% | 29.3% |
| Gibson County, TN | 68 | 14.4% | 29.9% |
| Decatur County, TN | 65 | 15.0% | 34.3% |
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 Carroll County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Carroll County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 26th 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, Carroll County ranks 10th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Carroll 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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West Tennessee Legal Services
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 Carroll 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 Carroll County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.