About three in ten people with a credit file in Montgomery County, Tennessee, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Montgomery County, 30.7% 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 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montgomery County's score
In Montgomery County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 265.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 86% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 74.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($78,956, 2024) and people below the poverty line (10.2%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.7% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people265.1 · 202586th percentile
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- 74.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.8% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 49.9 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 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.0% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 46.5 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 rent18.5% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202740th percentile
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- 36.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.2% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.3% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,956 · 202421st 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, 10.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montgomery County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montgomery County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 22.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Montgomery County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 22.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.4% in 2011 to 13.0% in 2012.
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 8.1%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 8.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montgomery County, Tennessee.
How Montgomery County has changed
Montgomery County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 216,148 in 2019 to 246,025 in 2024.
Montgomery County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 246,025, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 88,303. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montgomery County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County had its largest rise in the last span, from 55,398 in 2020 to 65,862 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 65,862, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 43,577. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montgomery County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.6% | 2024 10.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,980 | 2024 $78,956 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Montgomery County's history
1999
A tornado in January 1999 did $72.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in November 2002 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in May 2010 did $1.9 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 220,069, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in December 2023 did $20 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montgomery County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montgomery County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Montgomery County, in Tennessee and Kentucky, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Montgomery County ranks 6th of the eight; Houston County is highest, at 39.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian County, KY | 95 | 17.3% | 28.7% |
| Todd County, KY | 73 | 16.6% | 27.2% |
| Montgomery County, TN | 62 | 10.2% | 22.4% |
| Houston County, TN | 54 | 15.6% | 39.0% |
| Robertson County, TN | 49 | 9.2% | 20.0% |
| Stewart County, TN | 41 | 17.1% | 33.5% |
| Dickson County, TN | 41 | 10.1% | 23.0% |
| Cheatham County, TN | 35 | 8.4% | 19.9% |
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 Montgomery County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Montgomery County's poverty rate was 10.2% in 2024, 82nd 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, Montgomery County ranks 60th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.