About one in six people in Weakley County, Tennessee, lives below the poverty line
In Weakley County, 17.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Weakley County's score
In Weakley County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 74.8. The typical household earns $52,803 a year (2024), less than in 86% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 72.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Weakley 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.
Weakley County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.3% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.0% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,803 · 202486th percentile
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- 72.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.8% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people199.5 · 202574th percentile
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- 66.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 63.2 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 behind5.3% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.9% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 60.2 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 rent18.5% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202768th 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 Weakley 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 Weakley County, 18.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Weakley County
Tennessee
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Weakley County rose most from 19.5% in 1999 to 30.5% in 2009, 5.5 points each step.
In Weakley County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Weakley County, Tennessee, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Weakley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.9% in 2012 to 19.6% in 2013.
The share of households in Weakley 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: 12.8% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Weakley County, Tennessee.
How Weakley County has changed
Weakley County's population rose 17% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 34,732 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Weakley County, Tennessee.
The number of jobs located in Weakley County had its largest rise, from 9,585 in 2010 to 10,686 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Weakley County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 9,585 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Weakley County, Tennessee.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 17.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,810 | 2024 $52,803 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Weakley County's history
2006
Lightning in September 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 35,021. The 2020 Census counted 32,902, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2018
Lightning in May 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A thunderstorm in May 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A tornado in December 2021 did $6.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Weakley County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Weakley County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Weakley County, in Tennessee and Kentucky, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Weakley County ranks 4th of the seven; Carroll County is highest, at 37.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County, TN | 88 | 16.5% | 37.2% |
| Weakley County, TN | 79 | 17.3% | 30.4% |
| Henry County, TN | 79 | 17.1% | 29.9% |
| Gibson County, TN | 68 | 14.4% | 29.9% |
| Graves County, KY | 68 | 16.6% | 32.3% |
| Obion County, TN | 64 | 15.6% | 29.8% |
| Hickman County, KY | 59 | 18.9% | 35.3% |
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 Weakley County the poorest county in Tennessee?
No, Weakley County's poverty rate was 17.3% in 2024, 20th 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, Weakley County ranks 20th of 95 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Weakley 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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West Tennessee Legal Services
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 Weakley 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 Weakley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.