About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Marion County, Tennessee, are not working
In Marion County, 28.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Marion County's score
In Marion County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 82.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 296.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 75.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Marion 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.
Marion County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.0%, 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.
- 82.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.2% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people296.1 · 202590th percentile
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- 75.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.4% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.3% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 66.9 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 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 60.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.8% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.2% · 202461st percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,375 · 202456th percentile
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- 60.3 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 rent16.0% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.0% · fiscal year 202783rd 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 Marion 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 Marion County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Marion County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Marion County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Marion County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Marion County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.7% in 2018 to 13.2% in 2019.
The share of households in Marion County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Marion County, Tennessee.
How Marion County has changed
Marion County's population had its largest rise, from 20,672 in 1969 to 22,441 in 1974.
Marion County's population rose 44% from 1969 to 2024, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 27,769. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Marion County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Marion County rose by about half to 8,350, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 8,350. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Marion County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.6% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,411 | 2024 $64,375 |
The table uses 4.1% 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 Marion County's history
1861
Saltpeter mined at Nickajack Cave as main source for Confederate gunpowder. Wikipedia
1913
Hales Bar Dam constructed across Tennessee River, one of first major dams across navigable stream. Wikipedia
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 did $11.62 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 did $11.62 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in February 2014 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in December 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 28,837, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Marion County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Marion County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Marion County, in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Marion County ranks 4th of the seven; Grundy County is highest, at 39.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sequatchie County, TN | 92 | 15.4% | 31.2% |
| Grundy County, TN | 84 | 20.2% | 39.6% |
| Marion County, TN | 82 | 13.8% | 29.0% |
| Jackson County, AL | 67 | 17.0% | 30.7% |
| Hamilton County, TN | 54 | 14.5% | 19.6% |
| Dade County, GA | 49 | 11.6% | 28.8% |
| Franklin County, TN | 46 | 12.0% | 27.4% |
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 Marion County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Marion County's poverty rate was 13.8% in 2024, 58th 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, Marion County ranks 18th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Marion 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 Marion 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 Marion County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.