In Rutherford County, Tennessee, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Rutherford County, 15.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rutherford County's score
In Rutherford County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 16.9. Unemployment averaged 2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rutherford 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.
Even so, Rutherford County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (23.9%, fiscal year 2027) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (204.8, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.3 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.9% · fiscal year 202777th percentile
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- 63.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.7% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people204.8 · 202575th percentile
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- 54.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.3% · second quarter of 202643rd percentile
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- 27.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.0% · 202422nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.5% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability11.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance10.0% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$90,118 · 202410th percentile
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- 16.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202611th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.2% · 2020 to 202422nd 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 Rutherford 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 Rutherford County, 11.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rutherford County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rutherford County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 15.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Rutherford County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.9%; 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 Rutherford County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 7.0%
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 10.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rutherford County, Tennessee.
How Rutherford County has changed
Rutherford County's population had its largest rise, from 211,714 in 2004 to 259,078 in 2009.
Rutherford County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 376,996, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 67,605. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rutherford County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rutherford County tripled to 148,438, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 115,733. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rutherford County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 10.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,230 | 2024 $90,118 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rutherford County's history
2001
Lightning in April 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in April 2009 did $100 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A thunderstorm in May 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A tornado in November 2018 did $3.39 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 341,486, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rutherford County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rutherford County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Rutherford County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rutherford County ranks 5th of the eight; Coffee County is highest, at 28.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee County, TN | 65 | 15.5% | 28.5% |
| Bedford County, TN | 59 | 12.2% | 22.7% |
| Cannon County, TN | 57 | 14.1% | 27.0% |
| Davidson County, TN | 56 | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| Marshall County, TN | 47 | 9.0% | 22.3% |
| Rutherford County, TN | 43 | 10.0% | 15.9% |
| Wilson County, TN | 22 | 7.3% | 15.2% |
| 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 Rutherford County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Rutherford County's poverty rate was 10.0% in 2024, 84th 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, Rutherford County ranks 82nd of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rutherford 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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Dominion Financial Management
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Life of Victory International Christian Ministries
HUD-approved housing counselor
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You Can Make IT Home Ownership Center, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Rutherford 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 Rutherford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.