About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Fentress County, Tennessee, is not working
In Fentress County, 32.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fentress County's score
In Fentress County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 84.5. Jobs come next, at 62.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fentress 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.
Fentress County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.8%, 2020 to 2024) and 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.
- 84.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.1% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability23.5% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,626 · 202490th percentile
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- 62.5 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 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.8% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 60.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.0% · August 202557th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people162.5 · 202564th percentile
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- 52.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.2% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 44.8 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 rent10.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th 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 Fentress 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 Fentress County, 23.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fentress County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Fentress County had its largest rise, from 33.8% in 2004 to 40.5% in 2009.
In Fentress County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 39.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Fentress County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fentress County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 26.1% in 2018 to 22.3% in 2019.
The share of households in Fentress County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 22.5%
Low on the chart: 22.1% 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, Fentress County, Tennessee.
How Fentress County has changed
Fentress County's population rose by more than half to 20,129, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 20,129. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fentress County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Fentress County nearly doubled to 5,947, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 5,947. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fentress County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.4% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 31.8% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,874 | 2024 $50,626 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Fentress County's history
1823
Formed November 28, 1823 from portions of Morgan, Overton and White counties. Wikipedia
1924
Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Lightning in July 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Lightning in August 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in August 2010 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,489, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fentress County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fentress County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Fentress County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Fentress County ranks 2nd of the seven; Scott County is highest, at 41.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott County, TN | 83 | 17.7% | 41.0% |
| Morgan County, TN | 69 | 16.6% | 30.7% |
| Fentress County, TN | 68 | 19.0% | 39.7% |
| Putnam County, TN | 60 | 18.4% | 27.3% |
| Pickett County, TN | 60 | 15.8% | 37.0% |
| Overton County, TN | 57 | 13.5% | 32.3% |
| Cumberland County, TN | 54 | 13.2% | 37.5% |
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 Fentress County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Fentress County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 11th 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, Fentress County ranks 45th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fentress 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 Fentress 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 Fentress County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.