Carter County, Tennessee
Above the national median for bankruptcy filing rate — and 33.6× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Glacier County, MT — 7).
Main Findings
Carter County, Tennessee is more distressed than 85% of U.S. counties on the County Distress Index. The driver: a bankruptcy filing rate of 246 — above the national median of 126. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal and its lowest is Debt Burden (housing basis).
- 11th of 95 counties in Tennessee on the County Distress Index — 85 · very high county distress, more distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
- A bankruptcy filing rate of 246 (U.S. median 126). Bankruptcy filing rate at the 85th percentile nationally. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
- Disability rate at 22% — national median 16%, ranked at the 90th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
- Subprime credit share at 28% — national median 23%, ranked at the 70th percentile. Source: Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025).
- Adults 25-54 not working at 31% — national median 21%, ranked at the 92nd percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
Neighbors span four CDI score labels. The 42-point drop to Avery County, NC marks a cross-border distress gradient.
Carter County has a very high county distress score. The domain table shows which local pressure carries the composite.
The CDI gives this county a very high county distress label. The five-domain profile shows which local pressures carry the score. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal.
Indicator History
Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.
Unemployment rate
Poverty rate
Transfer income share
Subprime credit population
The Indicators Behind Carter County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Carter County's value shown alongside TN's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Carter | TN median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 67 · Rank 977 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 6% | 6% | 5% | 67th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 6% | 6% | 5% | 63rd | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 28% | 26% | 23% | 70th | Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 82 · Rank 371 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 32% | 28% | 23% | 79th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 246 | 216 | 126 | 85th | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 61 · Rank 1,028 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 28% | 22% | 21% | 94th | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents (FY2027); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 14% | 17% | 18% | 28th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Labor — domain score 66 · Rank 918 of 3,144 | |||||
| Adults 25-54 not working Share of adults aged 25 to 54 without a job, leaving out residents of prisons and other institutions (service members count as working) | 31% | 24% | 21% | 92nd | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Unemployment (average of monthly rates) Share of labor force unemployed, averaged over the monthly rates published for September 2025 to August 2026 (no figures published for October 2025) | 4% | 4% | 4% | 40th | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (monthly rates averaged, September 2025 to August 2026; no figures published for October 2025) |
| Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 79 · Rank 429 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 21% | 19% | 17% | 67th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 22% | 19% | 16% | 90th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 16% | 14% | 13% | 71st | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 12% | 10% | 8% | 77th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
Five-Domain Breakdown
The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.
Methodology
The County Distress Index scores household financial distress from 0 to 100 for all 3,144 U.S. counties. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the five domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every other county to give the score.
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), Equifax data retrieved via FRED (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2024 to 2027 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Carter County data.
Draft wire copy 126-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. — Carter County is more distressed than 85% of U.S. counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
Carter scores 85 out of 100, which means it is more distressed than 85% of U.S. counties; its score label is very high county distress. Within Tennessee, Carter ranks 11th of 95 counties.
The index, which draws on 14 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies default & legal as the primary driver in Carter. A bankruptcy filing rate of 246 — above the national median of 126.
American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Carter County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Carter County's distress score?
How does Carter County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
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