About one in five people in Wayne County, Tennessee, lives below the poverty line
In Wayne County, 18.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wayne County's score
In Wayne County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 80.2. The typical household earns $50,630 a year (2024), less than in 90% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 63.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wayne 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.
Wayne County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (2.6%, August 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.8% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.5% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance11.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,630 · 202490th percentile
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- 63.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.5% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people155.6 · 202561st 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 behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.6% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.7% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
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- 51.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.0% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 48.0 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 rent12.6% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wayne County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wayne County had its largest rise, from 31.0% in 2004 to 36.8% in 2009.
In Wayne County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 34.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Wayne County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 18.5% in 2019 to 15.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Wayne 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: 15.5% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wayne County, Tennessee.
How Wayne County has changed
Wayne County's population rose 29% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1989 and 1994
High on the chart: 17,048 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wayne County, Tennessee.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County rose 11% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 4,070 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wayne County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.4% | 2024 18.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,556 | 2024 $50,630 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Wayne County's history
1817
Created 1817 from parts of Hickman and Humphreys counties, with Waynesboro established as county seat in 1821. Wikipedia
1994
A tornado in November 1994 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in April 1998 did $4 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 17,021. The 2020 Census counted 16,232, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A flash flood in August 2010 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wayne County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wayne County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wayne County, in Tennessee and Alabama, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wayne County ranks 2nd of the seven; Perry County is highest, at 35.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardin County, TN | 85 | 18.0% | 33.8% |
| Perry County, TN | 75 | 15.9% | 35.5% |
| Lewis County, TN | 69 | 14.1% | 29.2% |
| Wayne County, TN | 66 | 18.8% | 34.6% |
| Decatur County, TN | 65 | 15.0% | 34.3% |
| Lawrence County, TN | 65 | 13.9% | 31.4% |
| Lauderdale County, AL | 55 | 12.8% | 28.4% |
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 Wayne County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Wayne County's poverty rate was 18.8% in 2024, 14th 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, Wayne County ranks 49th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wayne 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.
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 Wayne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.