In Sumner County, Tennessee, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Sumner County, 15.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sumner County's score
In Sumner County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 63.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 17.0. Unemployment averaged 2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sumner 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, Sumner County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (212, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.7 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.5% · fiscal year 202767th percentile
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- 59.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.6% · August 202540th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people212 · 202577th percentile
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- 40.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.7% · second quarter of 202635th percentile
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- 18.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.3% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.8% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$95,878 · 20247th percentile
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- 17.0 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 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd 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 Sumner 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 Sumner County, 16.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sumner County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sumner County had its largest rise, from 14.1% in 2004 to 18.2% in 2009.
In Sumner County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 343% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Sumner County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.7%; 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 Sumner County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 9.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sumner County, Tennessee.
How Sumner County has changed
Sumner County's population had its largest rise, from 173,107 in 2014 to 193,078 in 2019.
Sumner County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 211,721, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 91,219. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sumner County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sumner County more than doubled to 62,901, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 49,872. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sumner County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.7% | 2024 8.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,356 | 2024 $95,878 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Sumner County's history
1970
A tornado in April 1970 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in April 2006 did $69 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in February 2008 did $10 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 196,281, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in December 2023 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sumner County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sumner County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Sumner County, in Tennessee and Kentucky, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sumner County ranks 6th of the eight; Allen County is highest, at 33.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simpson County, KY | 75 | 14.6% | 28.7% |
| Allen County, KY | 67 | 14.3% | 33.8% |
| Macon County, TN | 66 | 16.0% | 27.9% |
| Davidson County, TN | 56 | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| Robertson County, TN | 49 | 9.2% | 20.0% |
| Trousdale County, TN | 42 | 14.5% | 24.6% |
| Sumner County, TN | 32 | 8.3% | 15.7% |
| Wilson County, TN | 22 | 7.3% | 15.2% |
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 Sumner County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Sumner County's poverty rate was 8.3% in 2024, 93rd 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, Sumner County ranks 91st of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sumner 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 Sumner 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 Sumner County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.