About three in ten people with a credit file in Coffee County, Tennessee, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Coffee County, 30.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 75% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coffee County's score
In Coffee County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 295.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 63.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coffee 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.
Coffee County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.8% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people295.2 · 202590th percentile
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- 63.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.1% · second quarter of 202666th percentile
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- 62.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.5% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.9% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance10.4% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,092 · 202445th percentile
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- 49.8 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 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.6% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
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- 36.8 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 rent16.5% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd 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 Coffee 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 Coffee County, 17.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coffee County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Coffee County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 28.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Coffee County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 28.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coffee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 19.3% in 2015 to 16.8% in 2016.
The share of households in Coffee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 11.7%
Low on the chart: 10.4% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Coffee County, Tennessee.
How Coffee County has changed
Coffee County's population had its largest rise, from 43,292 in 1994 to 47,506 in 1999.
Coffee County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 61,285, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 53,739. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coffee County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Coffee County rose by about a third to 25,879, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 25,681. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coffee County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.2% | 2024 15.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,651 | 2024 $68,092 |
The table uses 3.6% 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 Coffee County's history
2001
A tornado in October 2001 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in November 2002 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Hail in October 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 57,889, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coffee County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coffee County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Coffee County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Coffee County ranks 3rd of the eight; Grundy County is highest, at 39.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grundy County, TN | 84 | 20.2% | 39.6% |
| Warren County, TN | 69 | 15.2% | 32.5% |
| Coffee County, TN | 65 | 15.5% | 28.5% |
| Bedford County, TN | 59 | 12.2% | 22.7% |
| Cannon County, TN | 57 | 14.1% | 27.0% |
| Franklin County, TN | 46 | 12.0% | 27.4% |
| Rutherford County, TN | 43 | 10.0% | 15.9% |
| Moore County, TN | 25 | 8.9% | 24.7% |
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 Coffee County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Coffee County's poverty rate was 15.5% in 2024, 37th 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, Coffee County ranks 54th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coffee 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.
Download the CSV for Coffee 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 Coffee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.