Unemployment in Maury County, Tennessee, is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties
In Maury County, 4.7% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Maury County's score
In Maury County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 71.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 286.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 63.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Maury 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.
Maury County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (11.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (8.7%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.0% · August 202553rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people286.2 · 202589th percentile
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- 63.2 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 rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
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- 53.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.1% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 47.7 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 behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.2% · second quarter of 202638th percentile
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- 23.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.7% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.3% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability11.6% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$82,751 · 202416th 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 Maury 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 Maury County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Maury County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Maury County had its largest rise, from 17.7% in 2004 to 23.5% in 2009.
In Maury County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Maury County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.4%; 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 Maury County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 6.3%
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 13.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Maury County, Tennessee.
How Maury County has changed
Maury County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 98,694 in 2019 to 113,411 in 2024.
Maury County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 113,411, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 51,394. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Maury County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Maury County nearly doubled to 40,556, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 29,755. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Maury County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 8.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,013 | 2024 $82,751 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Maury County's history
2015
A flash flood in December 2015 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 100,974, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in March 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in June 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A tornado in May 2024 did $10 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Maury County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Maury County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Maury County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Maury County ranks 6th of the seven; Lawrence County is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis County, TN | 69 | 14.1% | 29.2% |
| Giles County, TN | 65 | 13.3% | 30.2% |
| Lawrence County, TN | 65 | 13.9% | 31.4% |
| Maury County, TN | 52 | 8.7% | 21.4% |
| Marshall County, TN | 47 | 9.0% | 22.3% |
| Hickman County, TN | 42 | 13.2% | 27.7% |
| Williamson County, TN | 1 | 4.5% | 6.5% |
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 Maury County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Maury County's poverty rate was 8.7% in 2024, 91st 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, Maury County ranks 75th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Maury 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.
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 Maury County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.