About one in four people in Haywood County, Tennessee, has a disability
In Haywood County, 23.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Haywood County's score
In Haywood County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.2%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 92.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Haywood 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.
Haywood County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.4% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score59.4% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 92.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.3% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people634.8 · 2025top 5%
-
- 86.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.8% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.7% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability23.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance11.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,818 · 202484th percentile
-
- 57.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.1% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
-
- 57.0 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
-
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 Haywood 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 Haywood County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Haywood County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Haywood County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 36.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Haywood County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Haywood County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 25.4% in 2020 to 28.9% in 2021.
The share of households in Haywood County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 24.7%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 24.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Haywood County, Tennessee.
How Haywood County has changed
Haywood County's population had its largest drop in the last span, from 17,985 in 2019 to 17,097 in 2024.
Haywood County's population fell 14% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 20,299 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Haywood County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Haywood County had its largest rise in the last span, from 4,920 in 2020 to 6,337 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Haywood County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2015, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 4,826 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Haywood County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.2% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.4% | 2024 19.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,333 | 2024 $53,818 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Haywood County's history
1823
Created from part of Madison County in 1823–24. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 27,699. The 2020 Census counted 17,864, 64% of the peak. Census Bureau
1988
A tornado in January 1988 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in May 2010 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1994
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Haywood County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Haywood County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Haywood County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Haywood County ranks 2nd of the seven; Hardeman County is highest, at 40.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardeman County, TN | 98 | 21.5% | 40.0% |
| Lauderdale County, TN | 98 | 20.7% | 34.7% |
| Haywood County, TN | 92 | 19.8% | 36.4% |
| Madison County, TN | 90 | 17.5% | 25.7% |
| Crockett County, TN | 68 | 14.0% | 27.4% |
| Tipton County, TN | 62 | 13.6% | 24.0% |
| Fayette County, TN | 43 | 9.3% | 17.6% |
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 Haywood County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Haywood County's poverty rate was 19.8% in 2024, 8th 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, Haywood County ranks 7th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Haywood 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.
-
West Tennessee Legal Services
Legal aid
-
Tennessee Justice Center
Legal aid
-
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 Haywood 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 Haywood County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.