About one in four people in Grundy County, Tennessee, has a disability
In Grundy County, 24.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grundy County's score
In Grundy County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 88.7. Jobs come next, at 76.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grundy 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.
Grundy County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.2% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.0% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability24.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance13.3% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,568 · 202492nd percentile
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- 76.1 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 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working34.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 72.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.7% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 70.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.8% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people215 · 202578th percentile
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- 44.4 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 rent8.8% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.1% · fiscal year 202778th 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 Grundy 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 Grundy County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grundy County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grundy County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 31.4% in 2004 to 41.2% in 2009.
In Grundy County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 39.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Grundy County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.6%; 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 Grundy County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 22.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grundy County, Tennessee.
How Grundy County has changed
Grundy County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14,148, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 14,271 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grundy County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grundy County rose 10% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,130 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grundy County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.9% | 2024 20.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,432 | 2024 $49,568 |
The table uses 4.3% 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 Grundy County's history
1812
Saltpeter mining during War of 1812 and Civil War at Fultz, Hubbard, and Woodlee caves. Wikipedia
1844
Created in 1844. Wikipedia
1935
Tracy City business district destroyed by intentional blaze with ten buildings wiped out April 27, 1935. Wikipedia
1971
Tracy City L&N Depot burned August 24, 1971 after standing for a century. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 14,332. The 2020 Census counted 13,529, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grundy County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grundy County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Grundy County, one scores higher. Of the group, Grundy County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (39.6%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sequatchie County, TN | 92 | 15.4% | 31.2% |
| Grundy County, TN | 84 | 20.2% | 39.6% |
| Marion County, TN | 82 | 13.8% | 29.0% |
| Warren County, TN | 69 | 15.2% | 32.5% |
| Coffee County, TN | 65 | 15.5% | 28.5% |
| Franklin County, TN | 46 | 12.0% | 27.4% |
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 Grundy County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Grundy County's poverty rate was 20.2% in 2024, 7th 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, Grundy County ranks 14th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grundy 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 Grundy 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 Grundy County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.