Tennessee's bankruptcy rate, 295.8 per 100,000 in 2025, trailed only Alabama and Mississippi
Each state is shaded by how distressed its households are, from green (least) to red (most), with data through September 2026. Tennessee scores 52 out of 100.
Most Tennessee bankruptcies are Chapter 13 repayment plans: 56.6% in 2025, 5th highest in the country. Few Tennesseans are out of work; the state's yearly jobless rate has come in under the nation's every year from 2016 through 2025. Shelby County, home to Memphis and 12.8% of Tennesseans, is more distressed than 95% of U.S. counties. Williamson County, south of Nashville, has the 47th lowest score of all 3,144 U.S. counties.
- Score
- 52/100
- Data through
- September 2026
- Edition
- October 2026
Next edition expected March 2027
How Tennessee ranks among the states
Tennessee lands in the middle overall, but not on every count. In 2025 it had the 3rd highest rate of bankruptcy filings in the country, 295.8 for every 100,000 residents (2025 population), behind only Alabama and Mississippi (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). At the same time, a smaller share of its workers were jobless than in most states, and fewer of its renters spent half their income on housing. Those two parts of the score pull it back to the middle (see bankruptcy).
What drives the score
Each part below is scored 0 to 100 by where Tennessee falls among the 50 states and D.C. on the measures inside it. The four parts average 54, yet the State Distress Index score is not that average. It counts how many of the other 49 states and D.C. have a lower four-part average than Tennessee: 26 of those 50 places, or 52%, so the score is 52. By the same rule, a state scoring 80 is more distressed than 80% of the others.
- Collections and bankruptcy86In early 2025, 16.4% of Tennesseans with a credit record had a debt in collections, against 13.2% nationwide, and the state’s 2025 bankruptcy rate was 295.8 filings per 100,000 residents (2025 population), against 166.3.
- Late payments63Tennessee borrowers were more often 90 or more days behind than borrowers nationwide in early 2025: 14.8% of card borrowers and 9.9% of car-loan borrowers. Mortgage borrowers, at 1.0%, were less often that far behind.
- Renters’ housing costs40In 2024, rent and utilities took half or more of the income of 23.3% of Tennessee renter households, below the U.S. share of 26.1%.
- Jobs28Over June, July and August 2026, unemployment averaged 3.4% in Tennessee, against 4.1% for the U.S.
Tennessee beside its eight neighbors
Five of the eight states touching Tennessee score higher. Mississippi and Alabama, to the south, are among the ten most distressed states in the country, and Georgia and Kentucky come next among its neighbors. Arkansas is a few points above Tennessee, and North Carolina, Virginia and Missouri score lower.
State Distress Index score, 0 to 100. Among the 50 states and D.C., Mississippi ranks 4th for distress, Georgia 11th and Missouri, the least distressed of Tennessee’s neighbors, 34th. In August 2026, unemployment was 3.4% in Tennessee, 4.7% in Kentucky, the highest of Tennessee’s neighbors, and 3.2% in Georgia, the only neighbor with a lower rate (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
For a decade Tennessee ranked among the most distressed states; since 2016 it has mostly sat in the middle
At its worst
In the third quarter of 2006, the first quarter our index has all four parts, Tennessee scored 90 and was the 6th most distressed state. Until the middle of 2016 it never ranked below 13th. Its lowest score, 46, came at the end of 2018 and the start of 2019, when it ranked 28th.
What moved it
In the third quarter of 2016 the score fell from 80 to 64 as new Census renter figures cut the renters’ part from 66 to 36; that part changes once a year, when the figures come out. In the first three quarters of 2017 the jobs part, which sets Tennessee’s unemployment against other states’, slid from 46 to 26. Tennessee returned to the top 10 only in 2020, when its monthly unemployment rate spiked above the nation’s in the spring and the jobs part jumped from 40 to 68. The collections and bankruptcy part has stayed between 85 and 91 in every quarter since 2005.
Since the chart ends
Our quarterly history stops at the first quarter of 2025, when Tennessee scored 58 and ranked 22nd. Today it is 25th, with a score of 52. The newest Census renter figures, for 2025, moved the renters’ part from 48 to 40, and the jobs part eased from 31 to 28; late payments and collections barely changed.
Tennessee was the 6th most distressed state in 2006 and the 22nd in early 2025
Quarterly State Distress Index scores for Tennessee on a 0 to 100 scale, starting in the third quarter of 2006 (the first quarter with all four parts) and ending in the first quarter of 2025.
Which counties in Tennessee are the poorest and the most distressed?
Lake County, in the state’s northwest corner on the Mississippi River, is the poorest: 31.2% of its residents lived below the poverty line in 2024, the highest rate of Tennessee’s 95 counties, the Census Bureau estimates. Hardeman County, east of Memphis, is the most distressed, at 98, on our County Distress Index, which scores the strain on household budgets in every U.S. county. Hardeman, Lauderdale and Lake rank 34th, 52nd and 69th of the 3,144 U.S. counties on our index, among the 100 most distressed in the country (see the national list). Williamson County, just south of Nashville, is the least distressed, at 1, with the 47th lowest score of all 3,144.
West Tennessee and the mountain counties of the east carry the most strain; the suburbs around Nashville carry the least
County Distress Index scores, 0 to 100, for Tennessee’s 95 counties, with data through August 2026.
Loading the county map…
The county map could not be loaded. Every county is in the lists on this page.
Most distressed
| Rank | County | Score | Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hardeman | 98 | 21.5% |
| 2 | Lauderdale | 98 | 20.7% |
| 3 | Lake | 97 | 31.2% |
| 4 | Shelby | 95 | 19.0% |
| 5 | Hancock | 94 | 26.1% |
| 6 | Cocke | 94 | 20.9% |
| 7 | Haywood | 92 | 19.8% |
| 8 | Sequatchie | 92 | 15.4% |
| 9 | Madison | 90 | 17.5% |
| 10 | Carroll | 88 | 16.5% |
Least distressed
| Rank | County | Score | Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Sumner | 32 | 8.3% |
| 92 | Loudon | 29 | 9.0% |
| 93 | Moore | 25 | 8.9% |
| 94 | Wilson | 22 | 7.3% |
| 95 | Williamson | 1 | 4.5% |
Rank among Tennessee’s counties, 1 = most distressed. We rank on unrounded scores, so counties showing the same score can hold different ranks. Poverty is the Census Bureau’s 2024 rate for each county.
Every county, by score
Of Tennessee’s 95 counties, 19 score 80 or more, home to 20.6% of its people: 8 in East Tennessee, 8 in West Tennessee and 3 in Middle Tennessee. Most counties, 62 in all, score 60 or more, yet they hold less than half of Tennesseans, 45.7%, because Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and the suburbs around Nashville all score below 60.
19 score 80–100
Hardeman, Lauderdale, Lake, Shelby, Hancock, Cocke, Haywood, Sequatchie, Madison, Carroll, Carter, Rhea, Hardin, Grundy, Clay, Scott, Campbell, Marion, Hamblen
19 score 70–79
Weakley, Henry, Johnson, Claiborne, Polk, DeKalb, McNairy, Benton, Union, Monroe, Perry, Dyer, Greene, Meigs, Henderson, McMinn, Unicoi, White, Hawkins
38 score 50–69
Jackson, Morgan, Lewis, Warren, Grainger, Crockett, Fentress, Gibson, Bradley, Chester, Wayne, Macon, Decatur, Giles, Lawrence, Coffee, Sullivan, Obion, Bledsoe, Anderson, Tipton, Montgomery, Putnam, Pickett, Bedford, Van Buren, Cannon, Overton, Washington, Davidson, Sevier, Hamilton, Houston, Jefferson, Cumberland, Humphreys, Maury, Lincoln
15 score 30–49
Robertson, Marshall, Franklin, Roane, Knox, Rutherford, Fayette, Hickman, Trousdale, Stewart, Dickson, Smith, Cheatham, Blount, Sumner
4 score 0–29
In Tennessee, the poorest counties are mostly the most distressed too
Five parts count equally in the County Distress Index: late payments, collections and bankruptcy, jobs, renters’ housing costs, and a safety-net part that takes in poverty, child poverty, household income, disability and health insurance. In Tennessee the poverty and distress rankings mostly agree: four of the five poorest counties, Lake, Hancock, Hardeman and Cocke, are also among the six most distressed. Johnson County, in the northeast corner, has a poverty rate of 20.9%, tied for 4th highest in the state, but ranks 22nd on distress. The sharpest split is between two neighbors in the Sequatchie Valley. Bledsoe County has a poverty rate of 19.4%, 10th highest, yet ranks 57th on distress, with the lowest jobs score of any county in the state. Sequatchie County, next door, has a lower poverty rate, 15.4%, but is the 8th most distressed, scoring far above Bledsoe on jobs, late payments and renters’ costs. These rates are the Census Bureau’s 2024 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates; a site that uses a different survey or year may name a different poorest county.
Main Street in Sneedville, the seat of Hancock County, in February 2021. Hancock’s typical household earned $41,664 in 2024, the lowest median income of Tennessee’s 95 counties, and 26.1% of its residents were poor, 2nd highest in the state (Census Bureau). Hancock is the 5th most distressed county on our index; unlike most of the top 10, its score comes more from renters’ costs, jobs and the safety-net part, which counts poverty and income, than from collections and bankruptcy.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau; American Default Research. Photo: AppalachianCentrist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
West, Middle and East Tennessee: Memphis against the Nashville suburbs
Tennesseans speak of three parts of the state, West, Middle and East, and state law sorts every county into one of those three grand divisions. We weighted each county by its population, so a big county counts for more people than a small one; the averages are ours. West Tennessee, 21 counties with 21.6% of the state’s residents, averages 87, well above East Tennessee at 58 and Middle Tennessee at 47. Shelby County, home to Memphis and 12.8% of Tennesseans, scores 95, and 19 of the other 20 West Tennessee counties score 60 or more. In Middle Tennessee, Davidson County (Nashville) scores 56, while the six counties around it, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, Cheatham and Robertson, average 28, the lowest of any group, and none reaches 60; the other 34 Middle Tennessee counties average 59. In East Tennessee, Knox County (Knoxville) scores 44 and Hamilton County (Chattanooga) 54, but the other 31 counties average 63, and 24 of them score 60 or more. These averages locate the strain; they don’t explain it.
County Distress Index (American Default Research), each county weighted by its Census population; the averages are our own. Grand divisions: Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-1-201, as listed by the State of Tennessee.
Is Tennessee a poor state? Poorer than most, though not among the poorest
Poorer than most states, but well short of the poorest. In 2024, 13.3% of Tennesseans lived below the poverty line, tied for 13th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 12.1% nationwide. The typical household earned $72,007, 11th lowest, against $81,604 for the U.S. (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). Income per person, all the income residents received divided by the number of residents, was $66,504, 20th lowest (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis).
Residents in poverty
13.3%
U.S. 12.1%
Tied for 13th highest of the states and D.C. for 2024
Children in poverty
18.4%
U.S. 15.5%
10th highest of the states and D.C. for 2024
Median household income
$72,007
U.S. $81,604
11th lowest of the states and D.C. for 2024
Tennessee’s poverty rate has been above the U.S. rate in every Census estimate since 1989
Share of Tennesseans and of all Americans below the poverty line, 1989 to 2024. The Census Bureau published no state estimates for 1990 to 1992 or for 1994.
Less income from savings and investments than any other state
Dividends, interest and rent made up 15.9% of the income Tennesseans received in 2024, the lowest share among the 50 states and D.C., against 21.0% nationwide. Government benefits such as Social Security and Medicare made up 19.8%, against 18.3% nationwide (Bureau of Economic Analysis).
Tennessee has no minimum wage law of its own
With no state minimum wage law, employers covered by federal law pay the federal minimum, $7.25 an hour, the U.S. Department of Labor’s table shows. Three of Tennessee’s eight neighbors set a higher rate: Missouri, at $15.00; Virginia, at $12.77; and Arkansas, at $11.00 for employers with 4 or more employees. Alabama and Mississippi have no state law either, Kentucky and North Carolina set $7.25, and Georgia’s state rate, $5.15, applies only to jobs the federal law doesn’t cover (U.S. Department of Labor).
Why another site may show a different Tennessee poverty rate
Many sites quote the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, which puts Tennessee’s poverty rate and income at slightly different levels. This page uses the bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, made each year for every state and county, so the state and county figures here come from one source. Programs that decide who qualifies use the federal poverty guideline instead, a separate yardstick covered in the questions below. Tennessee’s poorest counties →
Is Tennessee cheap to live in? Rent is below the U.S. median, and so is income
Rent is lower than in the country as a whole, and so is pay. Half of Tennessee renters paid less than $1,189 a month in the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey, 23rd lowest among the 50 states and D.C., against a U.S. median of $1,413. A year of that rent came to 19.8% of the typical household’s 2024 income, against 20.8% for the U.S. (our calculation). We hold no prices for food, fuel or electricity, so we can’t rank Tennessee’s overall cost of living.
Median rent, a month
$1,189
U.S. $1,413
23rd lowest of the states and D.C. for 2020 to 2024
Renters spending at least 30% of income on housing
44.3%
U.S. 47.6%
Tied for 20th lowest of the states and D.C. for 2020 to 2024
Homeowners spending at least 30% of income on housing
18.4%
U.S. 22.5%
14th lowest of the states and D.C. for 2020 to 2024
Since 2010, a smaller share of Tennessee renters than of all U.S. renters have spent half their income on housing
Renter households whose rent and utilities take half or more of their income, Tennessee and the U.S., from the Census Bureau’s one-year surveys, 2005 to 2024; no figures were published for 2020.
This share is the measure behind the renters’ part of our State Distress Index. It updates once a year, so it can move Tennessee’s score in a single quarter (see how it ranks).
A bare-bones Tennessee budget, by MIT’s count
The MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates yearly basic costs before taxes at $44,959 for one adult with no children. That is 14th lowest among the 50 states and D.C. Two working parents with two children need $98,627 (2025 dollars). Those budgets cover necessities only, with nothing saved.
Rent is higher in Tennessee than in five of its eight neighbors
Only Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina have a higher median rent. Set against income, rent also takes a bigger share in those three states and a smaller one in the other five.
| State | Rent, a month | Median household income | Rent as share of income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Rent as share of income 20.6% | $1,579 Median household income $92,116 | $92,116 | 20.6% |
| Georgia Rent as share of income 20.9% | $1,393 Median household income $79,912 | $79,912 | 20.9% |
| North Carolina Rent as share of income 19.9% | $1,228 Median household income $74,055 | $74,055 | 19.9% |
| Tennessee Rent as share of income 19.8% | $1,189 Median household income $72,007 | $72,007 | 19.8% |
| Missouri Rent as share of income 17.3% | $1,033 Median household income $71,583 | $71,583 | 17.3% |
| Alabama Rent as share of income 18.1% | $1,007 Median household income $66,704 | $66,704 | 18.1% |
| Kentucky Rent as share of income 18.0% | $967 Median household income $64,481 | $64,481 | 18.0% |
| Mississippi Rent as share of income 19.3% | $954 Median household income $59,301 | $59,301 | 19.3% |
| Arkansas Rent as share of income 18.3% | $947 Median household income $62,146 | $62,146 | 18.3% |
Rent: median gross rent a month, 2020 to 2024 (Census Bureau, American Community Survey). Income: median household income, 2024 (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). The share is ours: twelve months of median rent divided by median household income. Rent and housing costs by state →
Bankruptcy in Tennessee: one of the highest filing rates in the country
Tennesseans filed 21,638 bankruptcy cases in 2025, 295.8 for every 100,000 residents (2025 population), the 3rd highest rate among the 50 states and D.C. and well above the national figure, 166.3 (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). Filings rose 7.5% from 2024, less than the 11.1% rise nationwide, and have grown every year since 2021, the lowest year in the available series; 2025 brought the most since 2020. They are still 35.9% below 2019, when Tennesseans filed 33,766 cases (our calculation).
Most Tennessee cases are filed under Chapter 13: 56.6% in 2025, 5th highest among the states, against 35.9% nationally. A Chapter 13 filer pays back part of the debt over three to five years under a plan the court approves, instead of having property sold to pay creditors. Chapter 7, the more common kind nationwide, erases many debts but can mean selling property the law doesn’t protect.
Tennessee has three federal bankruptcy courts. The Western district recorded 8,659 of the 2025 cases, more than the Eastern (7,446) or Middle (5,533) district, and 72.3% of its cases were under Chapter 13 (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2; the share is our calculation).
One kind of debt in collections stands out: medical bills. The Urban Institute, a research group, found that 7.9% of Tennesseans with a credit record had medical debt in collections in 2025, 3rd highest of the 44 places, D.C. included, with a published figure, against 3.2% nationwide. That is a separate measure from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia collections share in our score (see behind on bills).
| Year | Filings |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 65,934 |
| 2009 | 54,411 |
| 2019 | 33,766 |
| 2020 | 21,717 |
| 2021 | 15,439 |
| 2022 | 17,834 |
| 2023 | 19,678 |
| 2024 | 20,134 |
| 2025 | 21,638 |
Cases under every chapter in Tennessee’s three federal bankruptcy courts, the Eastern, Middle and Western districts, in selected years and each year since 2019. The available series run from 2001 to 2025 without 2004; 2005 is the highest of those years and 2021 the lowest. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2. Bankruptcy filings in every state →
Are Tennesseans behind on their bills? More often than Americans overall
Yes, more often than the country as a whole. In early 2025, 19.6% of Tennesseans with a credit record had a debt 90 or more days late, 13th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 17.2% nationally, our population-weighted average of the states (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). Mortgages are the exception: Tennessee homeowners are less often seriously behind than homeowners nationwide. All of this is household borrowing, not the state government’s debt.
Counted from the largest share among the 50 states and D.C., Tennessee is 11th on collections, 15th on cards, 13th on car loans and tied for 28th on mortgages. Each U.S. bar is our average of the states, with bigger states weighing more.
Falling far behind on a card is more common than before the pandemic: the share of Tennessee card borrowers 90 or more days late went from 11.2% at the end of 2019 to 14.8% in early 2025. Collections went the other way, from 24.8% to 16.4%, over years when the three big credit bureaus took many medical debts off credit reports, and a debt dropped from a report hasn’t necessarily been paid. Nationwide, the share of people with a medical collection on their report went from about 14% in March 2022 to about 5% in June 2023 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).
Counted in dollars, a smaller share of Tennessee card debt is far behind than nationwide
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York measures the share of dollars owed that is 90 or more days late, rather than the share of people. At the end of 2025, 11.6% of Tennessee credit card balances were that far behind, tied for 22nd highest among the 50 states and D.C., below the U.S. share of 12.4% but up from 7.8% at the end of 2019. Car-loan dollars ran above the U.S. share and mortgage dollars below it.
| Loan type | Tennessee | U.S. | Tennessee 2019 | U.S. 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | 11.6% End of 2025 U.S. 12.4% Tennessee 2019 7.8% · U.S. 2019 8.1% | 12.4% | 7.8% | 8.1% |
| Auto loan | 5.7% End of 2025 U.S. 5.2% Tennessee 2019 4.8% · U.S. 2019 4.9% | 5.2% | 4.8% | 4.9% |
| Mortgage | 0.7% End of 2025 U.S. 0.9% Tennessee 2019 0.9% · U.S. 2019 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% |
Share of balances 90 or more days past due at the end of 2025 and the end of 2019. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax. It counts dollars, not people, so it can’t be compared directly with the Philadelphia Fed chart above, and it includes old debts lenders have written off but still report.
More Tennessee mortgages are a month or two behind
In September 2025, 1.8% of Tennessee mortgages were 30 to 89 days late, tied for 16th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 1.6% nationwide (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). More owners than in most states have little equity: 5.8% of mortgages had less than 10% equity in the second quarter of 2026, 11th highest, against 4.7% for the U.S. (Federal Housing Finance Agency).
| Measure | Tennessee | U.S. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household debt per person with a credit report, end of 2025 23rd lowest | $56,690 U.S. $63,200 | $63,200 | 23rd lowest |
| Card balances per person with a credit report, end of 2025 18th lowest | $3,710 U.S. $4,350 | $4,350 | 18th lowest |
Rank among the 50 states and D.C. Debt per person totals every kind of household debt (Federal Reserve Bank of New York). Late payments in every state →
How is Tennessee’s economy doing? Unemployment is low, and so is pay
Fewer workers are out of a job than in most states, but incomes trail the nation’s (see Is Tennessee poor?). In August 2026, 3.4% of Tennessee’s labor force was out of work and looking, tied for 15th lowest among the 50 states and D.C. The national rate was 4.1% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). A year earlier, Tennessee’s rate was 3.5%. The state’s published yearly rate has come in under the U.S. rate every year from 2016 through 2025.
Unemployment rate
3.4%
U.S. 4.1%
Tied for 15th lowest of the states and D.C. for August 2026
Yearly average unemployment rate
3.5%
U.S. 4.3%
Tied for 15th lowest of the states and D.C. for 2025
Highest county rate, Hancock and Perry
5.5%
August 2026, not adjusted for seasonal swings
Tennessee’s yearly unemployment rate has been under the U.S. rate every year since 2016
Monthly share of the labor force out of work and looking for work, Tennessee and the U.S., seasonally adjusted, January 1990 to August 2026. The October 2025 survey didn’t run during the federal shutdown, so that month has no point; the headline compares the bureau’s yearly averages.
Unemployment runs highest in Hancock and Perry counties
| County | Rate |
|---|---|
| Hancock (Sneedville) | 5.5% |
| Perry (Linden) | 5.5% |
| Pickett (Byrdstown) | 5.2% |
| Hardeman (Bolivar) | 5.1% |
| Meigs (Decatur) | 5.0% |
| Shelby (Memphis) | 5.0% |
| Davidson (Nashville) | 3.1% |
| Sevier (Sevierville) | 2.9% |
| Cheatham (Ashland City) | 2.9% |
Unemployment rate, August 2026, not adjusted for seasonal swings: the six highest of Tennessee’s 95 counties (Hancock and Perry share a rate, as do Meigs and Shelby), plus Davidson for Nashville. Sevier and Cheatham share the lowest rate. County seats appear in parentheses. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. What changed in the past year →
What changed in Tennessee in the past year
-
Oct. 2025 to Sept. 2026
Layoff notices were heaviest in Shelby County
From Oct. 17, 2025, to Sept. 2, 2026, employers posted 60 notices of planned closures or layoffs with the Tennessee labor department, naming 8,398 workers; 1,998 of them were in Shelby County, home to Memphis (our count and sums of the state’s table). The largest notice, from GM’s Ultium Cells plant in Maury County, covered 710 workers; the largest in Shelby County, from NIKE Retail Services, covered 583, with a closure date of April 3, 2026. A notice is an employer’s plan, not a count of jobs lost, and the state’s list showed nothing posted after Sept. 2 when we read it on Oct. 17 (see what to watch).
-
June 22, 2026
A federal court stopped Tennessee’s planned limit on buying soda and candy with SNAP
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had approved Tennessee’s request to keep SNAP, the federal food benefit, from paying for processed foods and drinks such as soda, energy drinks and candy, for two years starting July 31, 2026. On June 22, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered that approval vacated and said the limit could not go ahead (Aragon et al. v. Rollins et al.). The department appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Aug. 20, and its Tennessee waiver page still noted the court’s order when we read it on Oct. 17.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tennessee SNAP food restriction waiver; court docket, Aragon v. Rollins, No. 1:26-cv-00861
-
April 11, 2026
Federal aid for storm-hit households after Winter Storm Fern
Ice from Winter Storm Fern, Jan. 22 to 27, 2026, left more than 365,000 customers without power at its height, and the governor’s office said on Feb. 6 that the storm had claimed 29 lives. A federal major disaster declaration came that day. On April 11, Tennessee’s emergency management agency said the declaration had been widened to offer FEMA Individual Assistance, which can help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and essential belongings, in 29 counties; FEMA’s page for the disaster now says the period to apply has closed. Those counties hold 50.8% of Tennesseans, including Memphis and Nashville, and 6 of them are among the 19 counties scoring 80 or more on our County Distress Index (our calculation).
Office of the Governor, Feb. 6, 2026; Tennessee’s emergency management agency, April 11, 2026; FEMA, disaster 4898
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January 2026
Memphis utility rates rose a last time
Memphis Light, Gas and Water said on Dec. 3, 2025, that it would raise its rates 4% in January 2026, the final step of a 12% increase the Memphis City Council approved in 2023. The utility estimated the step would add about $5 a month to the average home’s bill. Its residential rate page lists a new electric rate effective Jan. 5, 2026; the gas and water rates listed there date from 2024 and 2022.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water, Dec. 3, 2025; residential rates
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Nov. 12 to Nov. 17, 2025
November SNAP benefits came in part, then in full
During the federal shutdown, Tennessee’s human services department began paying 65% of November SNAP benefits on Nov. 12, following federal guidance. After the shutdown ended, it began issuing full November benefits on Nov. 17, and households that had received a partial payment got the rest. The state’s monthly SNAP counts swing sharply from October to December 2025, so this page leaves those months out of any trend (see SNAP).
Tennessee Department of Human Services, Nov. 12, 2025; Nov. 17, 2025
-
Oct. 31, 2025
A wider SNAP work rule reached more adults
Under the 2025 federal budget law, Tennessee’s human services department says, adults 18 to 64 who aren’t disabled and have no child under 14 at home can get SNAP for only three months in three years unless they work, volunteer or train at least 80 hours a month. The department asked people who believed they were exempt to send proof by Oct. 31, 2025.
Tennessee Department of Human Services, Sept. 22, 2025; SNAP work rule page
SNAP in Tennessee: a smaller share of residents get food help than in most states
In June 2026, 602,167 Tennesseans got SNAP, the federal food benefit once called food stamps, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports. That is 8.2% of the state’s 2025 population, 16th lowest among the 50 states and D.C., against 10.6% nationwide, a low share for a state whose poverty rate is above the nation’s. A year earlier, in June 2025, 682,128 people got it, so the count fell by 79,961, or 11.7%.
To apply for SNAP or check on a case, start at Tennessee’s human services department →
People getting SNAP
602,167
June 2026, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Share of residents getting SNAP
8.2%
U.S. 10.6%
16th lowest of the states and D.C. for June 2026 (2025 population)
Change from a year earlier
−11.7%
June 2025 to June 2026
In June 2025, before the 2025 federal rule changes reached Tennessee, the count was already below its average before the pandemic (October 2019 to February 2020), 866,329. The monthly counts swing sharply from October to December 2025, around the federal shutdown, so we leave those months out of any trend. We found no count of how many Tennesseans lost SNAP under the new rules, and a smaller count is not proof of less need: Census poverty figures stop at 2024, before the new rules. Is Tennessee poor? →
In Tennessee, a lender can usually sell a home without going to court
Most Tennessee home foreclosures never go to court. Home loans here are usually secured by a deed of trust, and when the owner falls behind, the trustee named in it can sell the home at a public sale under the power the deed grants. Before the sale, notice has to be published at least twice in a newspaper in the county, the first time at least 20 days ahead, and posted online for at least 20 straight days. A copy goes to the borrower by registered or certified mail by the first publication date (Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-101).
Tennessee law gives the former owner two years after the sale to buy the home back, unless the deed of trust waives that right, and wording that waives the “equity of redemption” is enough (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-8-101). A lender that wants to collect a balance the sale left unpaid has two years to sue for it (Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-117). Federal mortgage servicing rules generally keep a servicer from starting a foreclosure on a primary home until the loan is more than 120 days behind.
- Goes through a court
- Usually not
- Newspaper notices before the sale
- At least two
- First notice before the sale
- 20 days
- Buy-back right after the sale
- Two years, often waived
- Federal wait before starting
- Over 120 days behind
What the law says for a home you live in. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 35-5-101, 35-5-117 and 66-8-101; federal rule 12 CFR 1024.41. How foreclosure works in Tennessee →
Tennessee was awarded $168.2 million from the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund and had helped 2,985 households with it through early 2026 (U.S. Treasury). Our Tennessee foreclosure guide lists the help available now.
Tennessee mortgage complaints: what homeowners tell the CFPB
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received 6,680 mortgage complaints from Tennessee since 2012. The most common problem is trouble during the payment process, such as how payments, fees and escrow are handled, at 1,722 complaints, followed by loan modifications, collection and foreclosure, at 1,280.
- Oct. 10, 2026 First Horizon Bank Payment process: paying off the loan Closed with explanation
- Oct. 8, 2026 JPMorgan Chase Payment process: private mortgage insurance Closed with explanation
- Oct. 2, 2026 Aspen Properties Group, LLC Struggling to pay: trouble reaching the company about a modification, forbearance or foreclosure Closed with explanation
- Oct. 1, 2026 WSFS Financial Corporation Payment process: loan sold or transferred Closed with explanation
- Sept. 30, 2026 AmeriHome Mortgage Struggling to pay: applying for a modification, forbearance, short sale or deed-in-lieu In progress
- Sept. 30, 2026 PennyMac Struggling to pay: trouble reaching the company about a modification, forbearance or foreclosure Closed with explanation
- Sept. 29, 2026 Shellpoint / NewRez Payment process: trouble reaching the company to fix a problem with the loan In progress
- Sept. 29, 2026 First Horizon Bank Payment process: trouble reaching the company to fix a problem with the loan Closed with explanation
- Sept. 26, 2026 Volunteer Mortgage Loan Servicing Struggling to pay: an existing modification, forbearance or other relief Untimely response
- Sept. 24, 2026 Ruoff Mortgage Payment process: fees charged Closed with explanation
The 10 newest Tennessee complaints about paying a mortgage or getting help with one, newest first, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s public complaint database as we pulled it in October 2026. Complaints about taking out a new loan and any that name a credit bureau are left out. Each is one person’s account, which the bureau doesn’t verify, and a complaint doesn’t show a company did anything wrong. Every Tennessee mortgage complaint at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau →
What to watch before the next edition
Four employers have told the state they plan layoffs or closures before the next edition. The dates below, nearest first, come from the state’s table of layoff notices.
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Oct. 20, 2026
Identity Group layoffs in Putnam County
Identity Group’s notice, posted Aug. 24, names 63 workers in Putnam County, with a closure or layoff date of Oct. 20.
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Oct. 31, 2026
Kilgore Flares closure in Hardeman County
Kilgore Flares Company’s notice, posted Sept. 2, names 127 workers in Hardeman County, the most distressed county in Tennessee on our index, with a closure date of Oct. 31.
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Dec. 18, 2026
The last Tsubaki Nakashima layoffs in Unicoi County
Tsubaki Nakashima’s notice, posted May 14, covers 110 workers in Unicoi County, in layoffs that run from July 31 through Dec. 18.
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Dec. 31, 2026
The last Stanley Black & Decker layoffs in Sumner County
Stanley Black & Decker’s notice, posted June 24, lists 116 workers in Sumner County, north of Nashville, with layoffs on Aug. 28, Oct. 30 and Dec. 31.
Where Tennessee ranks highest and lowest
| Measure | Tennessee | U.S. | Rank | Latest data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents (2025 population) 3rd highest · 2025 | 295.8 U.S. 166.3 | 166.3 | 3rd highest | 2025 |
| Share of bankruptcy filings under Chapter 13 5th highest · 2025 | 56.6% U.S. 35.9% | 35.9% | 5th highest | 2025 |
| Children in poverty 10th highest · 2024 | 18.4% U.S. 15.5% | 15.5% | 10th highest | 2024 |
| Residents without health insurance 10th highest · 2024* | 10.0% U.S. 8.4% | 8.4% | 10th highest | 2024* |
| People with a debt in collections 11th highest · Early 2025 | 16.4% U.S. 13.2% | 13.2% | 11th highest | Early 2025 |
| Mortgages with less than 10% equity 11th highest · Mid-2026 | 5.8% U.S. 4.7% | 4.7% | 11th highest | Mid-2026 |
| Residents in poverty Tied for 13th highest · 2024 | 13.3% U.S. 12.1% | 12.1% | Tied for 13th highest | 2024 |
| Card borrowers 90+ days late 15th highest · Early 2025 | 14.8% U.S. 13.5% | 13.5% | 15th highest | Early 2025 |
| Mortgages 30 to 89 days late Tied for 16th highest · Sept. 2025 | 1.8% U.S. 1.6% | 1.6% | Tied for 16th highest | Sept. 2025 |
| Income from dividends, interest and rent, share of all income Lowest · 2024 | 15.9% U.S. 21.0% | 21.0% | Lowest | 2024 |
| Median household income 11th lowest · 2024 | $72,007 U.S. $81,604 | $81,604 | 11th lowest | 2024 |
| Unemployment rate, three-month average Tied for 15th lowest · June–August 2026 | 3.4% U.S. 4.1% | 4.1% | Tied for 15th lowest | June–August 2026 |
| Residents getting SNAP food benefits (2025 population) 16th lowest · June 2026 | 8.2% U.S. 10.6% | 10.6% | 16th lowest | June 2026 |
| Renters spending at least half their income on housing 18th lowest · 2024 | 23.3% U.S. 26.1% | 26.1% | 18th lowest | 2024 |
| Household debt per person with a credit report 23rd lowest · End of 2025 | $56,690 U.S. $63,200 | $63,200 | 23rd lowest | End of 2025 |
Each rank places Tennessee among the 50 states and D.C., counted from the top or the bottom as the row says; places that print the same value share a rank. * Census Bureau five-year survey, 2020 to 2024. Collections and card borrowers count people with a credit record (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia); their U.S. figures are our population-weighted average of the states. Debt per person: Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Mortgage equity: Federal Housing Finance Agency. Sources and method gives every row’s source. Download this table: CSV.
Questions about Tennessee
Is Tennessee a poor state?
Poorer than most. In 2024, 13.3% of Tennesseans lived below the poverty line, against 12.1% for the U.S., and the typical household earned $72,007, against $81,604 (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our State Distress Index, which also weighs debts, jobs and rent, Tennessee ranks 25th of the 50 states and D.C. Is Tennessee poor? →
What is the poorest county in Tennessee?
Lake County, in the northwest corner, whose seat is Tiptonville: 31.2% of its residents were poor in 2024, the highest rate of Tennessee’s 95 counties (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). Hancock County, in the northeast, has the lowest median household income, $41,664, and Hardeman County is the most distressed on our County Distress Index. Tennessee’s poorest counties →
Why do so many Tennesseans file for bankruptcy?
Our data can’t show why, and we found no source that settles it. What the data shows: Tennessee had 295.8 filings per 100,000 residents in 2025 (2025 population), the 3rd highest rate in the country, and 56.6% of them were under Chapter 13 (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). In early 2025, 16.4% of Tennesseans with a credit record had a debt in collections, above the U.S. share (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). Bankruptcy in Tennessee →
What is the minimum wage in Tennessee?
$7.25 an hour. Tennessee has no minimum wage law of its own, so the federal minimum applies to jobs the federal law covers (U.S. Department of Labor). Missouri, Virginia and Arkansas, three of its eight neighbors, set higher rates. Tennessee’s minimum wage →
Is Tennessee a non-judicial foreclosure state?
Mostly, yes. Under a deed of trust, a trustee can sell the home at a public sale without going to court, after publishing notice at least twice in a county newspaper, the first time at least 20 days before the sale (Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-101). How foreclosure works in Tennessee →
What is the poverty line in Tennessee?
Tennessee programs use the federal poverty guideline, one figure for the 48 contiguous states and D.C.: $15,960 a year for one person and $33,000 for a family of four in 2026 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The 13.3% poverty rate on this page uses the Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds, a different measure.
Cite or reuse Tennessee’s data
You may quote or reuse these figures with credit to American Default Research.
State Distress Index
Tennessee
25thmost distressed state
of the 50 states and D.C.
More distressed than 52% of the other states and D.C.
Tennessee is the 25th most distressed of the 50 states and D.C. on American Default Research’s State Distress Index, which measures strain on household finances. In 2025 it had the 3rd highest rate of bankruptcy filings in the country, 295.8 per 100,000 residents (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts), and in 2024 the Census Bureau put its poverty rate at 13.3%, against 12.1% nationally. Hardeman County is the state’s most distressed county, with a County Distress Index score of 98.
Reporters who want an interview or a custom cut of the data can email press@americandefault.org
Sources and method
We gather the data, run the numbers and research each state ourselves.
This edition: October 2026 · Next edition expected March 2027
- Bankruptcy filings, statewide and by districtAdministrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-22001 to 2025
- Late payments and collectionsFederal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Consumer Credit Explorerend of 2019 to early 2025
- Medical debt in collectionsUrban Institute, Debt in America2025
- Household debt and dollars behindFederal Reserve Bank of New York, Consumer Credit Panel / Equifaxend of 2019 and end of 2025
- Poverty rates and typical household income, Tennessee and each of its countiesCensus Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates1989 to 2024
- Renter households spending half or more of income on rent and utilitiesCensus Bureau, American Community Survey, one-year estimates2005 to 2024
- Rent, housing costs and health insuranceCensus Bureau, American Community Survey, five-year estimates2020 to 2024
- PopulationCensus Bureau, population estimates, 2025 release2025
- Income per person and sources of incomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis2024
- Unemployment rates for Tennessee, its counties and the U.S., by month and by yearU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Current Population SurveyJan. 1990 to Aug. 2026
- Mortgages with little equityFederal Housing Finance Agency, National Mortgage Databasesecond quarter of 2026
- Mortgages 30 to 89 days late; mortgage complaints; medical debts on credit reportsConsumer Financial Protection Bureau: Mortgage Performance Trends; complaint database; Recent changes in medical collections on consumer credit recordsSept. 2025; October 2026; March 2022 to June 2023
- SNAPU.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Administrationthrough June 2026
- Cost of getting byMIT Living Wage Calculator2025 dollars
- Minimum wagesU.S. Department of Labor, table of state minimum wagesJuly 1, 2026
- Mortgage help fundU.S. Treasury, Homeowner Assistance Fundthrough early 2026
- Foreclosure lawTenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-101 (2026 code volume), § 35-5-117 (Public Chapter 1001, 2010) and § 66-8-101 (as quoted by the Tennessee Court of Appeals, 2022); 12 CFR 1024.41as of 2026
- Poverty guidelineU.S. Department of Health and Human Services2026
- Housing counselorsU.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentOctober 2026
- What changed and what to watchTennessee labor department, layoff and closure notices, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tennessee SNAP food restriction waiver, Office of the Governor, Tennessee’s emergency management agency, Memphis Light, Gas and Water, Tennessee Department of Human Services. Each item links the page it was read on (see what changed)Oct. 2025 to Dec. 2026
- PhotoAppalachianCentrist, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Feb. 26, 2021
Urban Institute data: 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.
Four parts count equally: jobs; late payments; collections and bankruptcy; and renters’ housing costs. We average the four for every state, then give each state a score equal to the percentage of the other 49 states and D.C. whose average is lower; a state scoring 80 is more distressed than 80% of them. The full method →
We write with AI tools, and Ross Kilburn checks and reviews every page before it's published.
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Thanks, that helps.