About three in ten people with a credit file in Tipton County, Tennessee, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Tipton County, 30.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tipton County's score
In Tipton County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 309.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 60.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tipton 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.
Tipton County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($76,717, 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.4% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people309.6 · 202591st percentile
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- 60.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.7% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 53.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.1% · 202460th percentile
- People with a disability18.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance8.2% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,717 · 202425th percentile
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- 50.2 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 rent18.8% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 42.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.1% · 2020 to 202446th 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 Tipton 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 Tipton County, 15.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tipton County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tipton County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Tipton County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tipton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.8% in 2018 to 15.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Tipton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 11.8% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tipton County, Tennessee.
How Tipton County has changed
Tipton County's population more than doubled to 62,187, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 50,152. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tipton County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Tipton County nearly doubled to 11,924, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 9,559. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tipton County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.4% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,748 | 2024 $76,717 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Tipton County's history
1967
A tornado in May 1967 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1968
A tornado in April 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 61,081. The 2020 Census counted 60,970, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A flash flood in May 2010 did $20.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A tornado in March 2023 did $80 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tipton County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tipton County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Tipton County, in Tennessee and Arkansas, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tipton County ranks 5th of the seven; Haywood County is highest, at 36.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crittenden County, AR | 99 | 22.5% | 31.3% |
| Lauderdale County, TN | 98 | 20.7% | 34.7% |
| Mississippi County, AR | 97 | 20.0% | 28.6% |
| Shelby County, TN | 95 | 19.0% | 19.5% |
| Haywood County, TN | 92 | 19.8% | 36.4% |
| Tipton County, TN | 62 | 13.6% | 24.0% |
| Fayette County, TN | 43 | 9.3% | 17.6% |
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 Tipton County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Tipton County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 60th 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, Tipton County ranks 59th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tipton 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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Memphis Area Legal Services
Legal aid
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West Tennessee Legal Services
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 Tipton 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 Tipton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.