About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Grainger County, Tennessee, are not working
In Grainger County, 30.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grainger County's score
In Grainger County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 77.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 239.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 70.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grainger 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.
Grainger County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.0%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.5% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people239.1 · 202583rd percentile
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- 70.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.2% · 202458th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.2% · 202461st percentile
- People with a disability22.0% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,222 · 202488th percentile
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- 61.1 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 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 52.2 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 rent15.4% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.9% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
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- 44.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.5% · second quarter of 202658th 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 Grainger 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 Grainger County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grainger County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grainger County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 25.9% in 2004 to 33.8% in 2009.
In Grainger County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Grainger County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grainger County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.5% in 2009 to 17.5% in 2010.
The share of households in Grainger County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 14.0%
Low on the chart: 12.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grainger County, Tennessee.
How Grainger County has changed
Grainger County's population doubled to 25,073, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 20,445. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grainger County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grainger County rose by about half to 4,198, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 3,427. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grainger County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.1% | 2024 14.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,407 | 2024 $52,222 |
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 Grainger County's history
1796
Founded in 1796. Wikipedia
1900
Clinchdale Lumber Company logged timber in early 20th century. Wikipedia
1900
Zinc mining in Clinch River Valley in northern part of county. Wikipedia
1930
TVA creation in 1930s: 434 of 875 families from Grainger County relocated for Cherokee and Norris Dam construction. Wikipedia
1997
A flash flood in July 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
Southeastern Provisions cattle slaughterhouse raided by ICE April 5, 2018, 11 arrested, 86 detained; owner later found guilty of contamination of local water supply. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 23,527, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grainger County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grainger County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Grainger County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grainger County ranks 4th of the eight; Hancock County is highest, at 43.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, TN | 94 | 26.1% | 43.6% |
| Hamblen County, TN | 81 | 14.8% | 27.5% |
| Claiborne County, TN | 78 | 16.4% | 36.9% |
| Union County, TN | 76 | 17.4% | 30.4% |
| Hawkins County, TN | 71 | 13.6% | 34.4% |
| Grainger County, TN | 69 | 14.2% | 31.6% |
| Jefferson County, TN | 54 | 12.1% | 29.4% |
| Knox County, TN | 44 | 12.8% | 16.6% |
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 Grainger County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Grainger County's poverty rate was 14.2% in 2024, 51st 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, Grainger County ranks 43rd of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grainger 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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Clinch-powell Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc
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 Grainger 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 Grainger County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.