About one in four people with a credit file in Lincoln County, Tennessee, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lincoln County, 27.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 63% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 69.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 199.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 74% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 61.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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.
Lincoln County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.9%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.0% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people199.1 · 202574th percentile
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- 61.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.9% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 52.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.8% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,757 · 202450th percentile
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- 48.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.3% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 24.8 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 rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.8%; 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 Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 11.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Tennessee.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population had its largest rise, from 29,052 in 1994 to 31,015 in 1999.
Lincoln County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36,751, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 26,940. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County rose by about a fifth to 9,796, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 9,796. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.2% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,556 | 2024 $66,757 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Lincoln County's history
1952
A tornado in February 1952 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in April 2014 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in April 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 35,319, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Lincoln County, in Tennessee and Alabama, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lincoln County ranks 3rd of the eight; Giles County is highest, at 30.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giles County, TN | 65 | 13.3% | 30.2% |
| Bedford County, TN | 59 | 12.2% | 22.7% |
| Lincoln County, TN | 52 | 12.1% | 26.8% |
| Marshall County, TN | 47 | 9.0% | 22.3% |
| Franklin County, TN | 46 | 12.0% | 27.4% |
| Limestone County, AL | 38 | 10.3% | 18.8% |
| Madison County, AL | 36 | 9.6% | 17.3% |
| Moore County, TN | 25 | 8.9% | 24.7% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 74th 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, Lincoln County ranks 76th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.