In Lake County, Tennessee, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2014
In 2024, 51 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lake County's score
In Lake County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.5. About two in five people with a credit file (41.6%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 94.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lake 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.
Lake County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.6% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people346.6 · 202593rd percentile
-
- 94.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line31.2% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line38.4% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability26.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance15.3% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$42,267 · 2024top 5%
-
- 86.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working44.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
-
- 73.7 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 rent18.7% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.2% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
-
- 72.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score64.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
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 Lake 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 Lake County, 16.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lake County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lake County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Tennessee
In Lake County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 51.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lake County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 37.8% in 2019 to 32.3% in 2020.
The share of households in Lake County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 29.5% 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, Lake County, Tennessee.
How Lake County has changed
Lake County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1994 high, from 7,195 in 1989 to 8,413 in 1994.
Lake County's population fell by about a fifth to 6,422, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 8,413 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lake County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Lake County had its largest rise, from 1,187 in 2010 to 1,884 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Lake County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 1,884 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lake County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 32.1% | 2024 31.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,570 | 2024 $42,267 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Lake County's history
1811
Reelfoot Lake formed by New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. Wikipedia
1907
Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake violent conflict 1907–1908 against West Tennessee Land Company drainage plans. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 11,655. The 2020 Census counted 7,005, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A tornado in December 2021 did $4.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lake County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lake County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lake County, in Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky, one scores higher. Of the group, Lake County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (51.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pemiscot County, MO | 99 | 23.7% | 37.6% |
| Lake County, TN | 97 | 31.2% | 51.4% |
| Fulton County, KY | 96 | 23.9% | 47.0% |
| New Madrid County, MO | 91 | 19.1% | 32.5% |
| Dyer County, TN | 74 | 14.3% | 26.9% |
| Obion County, TN | 64 | 15.6% | 29.8% |
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 Lake County the poorest county in Tennessee?
Yes, Lake County's poverty rate was 31.2% in 2024, the highest of 95 counties in Tennessee (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Lake County ranks 3rd of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lake 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.
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 Lake County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.