About one in three people with a credit file in Hamblen County, Tennessee, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hamblen County, 32.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hamblen County's score
In Hamblen County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 283.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 69.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hamblen 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.
Hamblen County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.6% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people283.9 · 202589th percentile
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- 69.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.8% · 202463rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.2% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance12.8% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,725 · 202468th percentile
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- 65.9 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th 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 behind5.8% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.3% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 59.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.9% · 2020 to 202481st 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 Hamblen 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 Hamblen County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hamblen County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hamblen County had its largest rise, from 20.9% in 2004 to 28.8% in 2009.
In Hamblen County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 27.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Hamblen County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hamblen County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.5% in 2010 to 19.0% in 2011.
The share of households in Hamblen County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.0%
Low on the chart: 13.5% 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, Hamblen County, Tennessee.
How Hamblen County has changed
Hamblen County's population nearly doubled to 67,715, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 45,015. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hamblen County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Hamblen County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 34,328 in 2005 to 28,480 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Hamblen County rose 18% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 34,328 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hamblen County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.9% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,841 | 2024 $60,725 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Hamblen County's history
1870
Created in 1870 from parts of Jefferson, Grainger, and Hawkins counties. Wikipedia
2019
A flood in February 2019 did $1.23 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 64,499, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flood in September 2024 did $11 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hamblen County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hamblen County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hamblen County, one scores higher. Of the group, Hamblen County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Cocke County gets the largest, at 38.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cocke County, TN | 94 | 20.9% | 38.5% |
| Hamblen County, TN | 81 | 14.8% | 27.5% |
| Greene County, TN | 72 | 16.3% | 36.1% |
| Hawkins County, TN | 71 | 13.6% | 34.4% |
| Grainger County, TN | 69 | 14.2% | 31.6% |
| Jefferson County, TN | 54 | 12.1% | 29.4% |
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 Hamblen County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Hamblen County's poverty rate was 14.8% in 2024, 42nd 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, Hamblen County ranks 19th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hamblen 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 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 Hamblen 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 Hamblen County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.