About three in ten people with a credit file in McMinn County, Tennessee, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In McMinn County, 30.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 75% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives McMinn County's score
In McMinn County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 368.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 68.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in McMinn 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.
McMinn County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.9%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.5%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.6% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people368.2 · 202594th percentile
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- 68.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.2% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 62.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.3% · 202456th percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,178 · 202467th percentile
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- 61.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.2% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 36.6 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 rent15.9% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th 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 McMinn 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 McMinn County, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
McMinn County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In McMinn County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 31.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In McMinn County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in McMinn County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 17.0% in 2011 to 19.0% in 2012; 15.6% in 2020 to 13.6% in 2021.
The share of households in McMinn County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2021, reaching 13.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, McMinn County, Tennessee.
How McMinn County has changed
McMinn County's population nearly doubled to 56,754, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 56,754. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, McMinn County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in McMinn County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 17,640 in 2005 to 15,019 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in McMinn County rose 11% from 1990 to 2020, then turned down in 2025
High on the chart: 17,937 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, McMinn County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.6% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.8% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,135 | 2024 $61,178 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in McMinn County's history
1946
Battle of Athens - WWII veterans armed assault on jail against election fraud. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in April 1974 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A tornado in February 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 did $16.74 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 53,276, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered McMinn County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
McMinn County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border McMinn County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, McMinn County ranks 3rd of the seven; Meigs County is highest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, TN | 77 | 14.6% | 30.8% |
| Monroe County, TN | 75 | 12.6% | 33.9% |
| Meigs County, TN | 72 | 14.5% | 36.8% |
| McMinn County, TN | 71 | 13.7% | 31.6% |
| Bradley County, TN | 68 | 11.6% | 25.6% |
| Roane County, TN | 44 | 12.1% | 29.2% |
| Loudon County, TN | 29 | 9.0% | 23.1% |
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 McMinn County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, McMinn County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 59th 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, McMinn County ranks 35th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in McMinn 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 McMinn 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 McMinn County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.