About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Hawkins County, Tennessee, are not working
In Hawkins County, 29.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hawkins County's score
In Hawkins County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 290.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 66.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hawkins 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.
Hawkins County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.7%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.0% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people290.1 · 202589th percentile
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- 66.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.5% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 66.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.7% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability21.7% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance9.6% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,842 · 202473rd percentile
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- 57.1 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 behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.7% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 41.2 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202764th 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 Hawkins 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 Hawkins County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hawkins County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hawkins County had its largest rise, from 24.1% in 2004 to 33.1% in 2009.
In Hawkins County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 34.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Hawkins County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.4%; 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 Hawkins County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 12.9%
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 14.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hawkins County, Tennessee.
How Hawkins County has changed
Hawkins County's population nearly doubled to 59,371, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 42,622. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hawkins County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hawkins County rose by about a quarter to 13,291, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 10,866. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hawkins County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.4% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,680 | 2024 $58,842 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Hawkins County's history
1787
Established as a county in 1787. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 56,833. The 2020 Census counted 56,721, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
A debris flow in February 2019 did $15.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A debris flow in February 2019 did $8.72 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flood in March 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hawkins County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hawkins County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Hawkins County, in Tennessee and Virginia, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hawkins 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% |
| Scott County, VA | 81 | 20.1% | 40.5% |
| Greene County, TN | 72 | 16.3% | 36.1% |
| Hawkins County, TN | 71 | 13.6% | 34.4% |
| Grainger County, TN | 69 | 14.2% | 31.6% |
| Sullivan County, TN | 64 | 15.7% | 27.8% |
| Washington County, TN | 56 | 13.0% | 25.0% |
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 Hawkins County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Hawkins County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 60th 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, Hawkins County ranks 38th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hawkins 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 Hawkins 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 Hawkins County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.