About one in four people in Monroe County, Tennessee, has a disability
In Monroe County, 22.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 271.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 64.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Monroe 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.
Monroe County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.1%, fiscal year 2027) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.9% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people271.6 · 202587th percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.6% · 202445th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.9% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability22.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance11.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,682 · 202461st percentile
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- 64.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.2% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 61.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.3% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 56.0 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 rent23.4% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202732nd 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Monroe County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Monroe County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 24.0% in 2004 to 34.6% in 2009.
In Monroe County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 33.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Monroe County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.7% in 2012 to 20.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Monroe County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 13.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Monroe County, Tennessee.
How Monroe County has changed
Monroe County's population had its largest rise, from 33,251 in 1994 to 38,071 in 1999.
Monroe County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 49,154, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 45,075. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Monroe County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Monroe County nearly doubled to 14,633, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 11,056. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Monroe County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.6% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 12.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,605 | 2024 $62,682 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Monroe County's history
1993
A tornado in February 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 did $11.16 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in March 2012 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 46,250, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flash flood in August 2023 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Monroe County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Monroe County, in Tennessee and North Carolina, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Monroe County ranks 3rd of the seven; Cherokee County is highest, at 45.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, TN | 77 | 14.6% | 30.8% |
| Graham County, NC | 77 | 16.4% | 38.7% |
| Monroe County, TN | 75 | 12.6% | 33.9% |
| McMinn County, TN | 71 | 13.7% | 31.6% |
| Cherokee County, NC | 49 | 15.4% | 45.0% |
| Blount County, TN | 33 | 9.2% | 21.7% |
| 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 Monroe County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 12.6% in 2024, 69th 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, Monroe County ranks 29th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.