About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Clay County, Tennessee, are not working
In Clay County, 39.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clay County's score
In Clay County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.0. The typical household earns $48,100 a year (2024), less than in 94% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 75.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clay 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.
Clay County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a credit card behind (4.9%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.7% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.4% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability23.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance8.2% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,100 · 202494th percentile
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- 75.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working39.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 71.1 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 rent19.7% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.8% · fiscal year 202782nd percentile
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- 62.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.7% · August 202559th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people168.5 · 202566th percentile
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- 59.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.9% · second quarter of 202679th 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 Clay 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 Clay County, 25.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clay County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Clay County had its largest rise, from 30.3% in 2004 to 37.1% in 2009.
In Clay County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Clay County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.5% in 2018 to 13.9% in 2019.
The share of households in Clay County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 13.9% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clay County, Tennessee.
How Clay County has changed
Clay County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 7,947 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clay County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Clay County fell most sharply after its 1995 high, from 2,716 in 1995 to 1,828 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Clay County fell by about half from 1990 to 2020, reaching 1,284, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 2,716 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clay County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.1% | 2024 19.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,811 | 2024 $48,100 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Clay County's history
1870
Formed in 1870 from Jackson and Overton counties. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 10,904. The 2020 Census counted 7,581, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clay County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clay County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Clay County, in Tennessee and Kentucky, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clay County ranks 6th of the eight; Clinton County is highest, at 48.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton County, KY | 90 | 21.4% | 48.8% |
| Clay County, TN | 84 | 19.7% | 34.5% |
| Cumberland County, KY | 76 | 19.8% | 47.7% |
| Jackson County, TN | 69 | 16.3% | 35.9% |
| Macon County, TN | 66 | 16.0% | 27.9% |
| Monroe County, KY | 63 | 20.0% | 39.3% |
| Pickett County, TN | 60 | 15.8% | 37.0% |
| Overton County, TN | 57 | 13.5% | 32.3% |
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 Clay County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 19.7% in 2024, 9th 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, Clay County ranks 15th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clay 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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Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands
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.
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 Clay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.