Grainger County, Tennessee
Above the national median for bankruptcy filing rate — and 32.8× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Glacier County, MT — 7).
Main Findings
Grainger County, Tennessee ranks 1,476th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: a bankruptcy filing rate of 239 — above the national median of 126.
- 1,476th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — Middle fifth, 69th in Tennessee.
- A bankruptcy filing rate of 239 (U.S. median 126). Bankruptcy filing rate at the 83rd percentile nationally.
- Disability rate at 22% — national median 16%, ranked at the 91st percentile.
- Subprime credit share at 25% — national median 23%, ranked at the 55th percentile.
- Debt Burden (housing basis) domain score 40 — weight 20.0% of the CDI composite.
Neighbors span three CDI distress fifths. The 32-point drop to Knox County marks where the Tennessee distress corridor ends.
"Grainger County ranks in the middle fifth of U.S. counties. The county sits near the national center of the CDI distribution, so the domain mix carries the story."
"The CDI places this county in the middle fifth nationally. The county sits near the center of the geography distribution, so the domain mix matters more than the composite alone."
The Indicators Behind Grainger County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Grainger County's value shown alongside TN's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Grainger | TN median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 44 · Rank 1,789 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 4% | 6% | 5% | 33rd | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 5% | 6% | 5% | 43rd | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 25% | 26% | 23% | 55th | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 78 · Rank 487 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 29% | 28% | 23% | 72nd | Urban Institute (2024) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 239 | 216 | 126 | 83rd | US Courts F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 40 · Rank 2,002 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 20% | 22% | 21% | 37th | HUD FMR × Census ACS (2024) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 17% | 17% | 18% | 43rd | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Labor — domain score 31 · Rank 2,190 of 3,144 | |||||
| Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed | 3% | 4% | 4% | 31st | BLS LAUS (Dec 2025) |
| Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 67 · Rank 907 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 22% | 21% | 18% | 68th | Census SAIPE (2023) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 22% | 19% | 16% | 91st | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 16% | 16% | 14% | 65th | Census SAIPE (2023) |
| Transfer-income dependency Share of personal income from government transfers | 32% | 30% | 27% | 72nd | BEA Regional Personal Income (2023) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 9% | 10% | 8% | 56th | Census ACS 5-yr (2023) |
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 is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. 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 CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, Business Formation Statistics), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2023 to 2025 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Grainger County data — in under 60 seconds.
Draft wire copy 150-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
RUTLEDGE, Tenn. — Grainger County ranks 1,476th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
The composite score of 52 out of 100 places Grainger in the middle fifth. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 1,475 counties rank more distressed. Within Tennessee, Grainger ranks 69th of 95 counties.
The index, which draws on 16 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 Grainger. A bankruptcy filing rate of 239 — above the national median of 126.
"Grainger County ranks in the middle fifth of U.S. counties. The county sits near the national center of the CDI distribution, so the domain mix carries the story," said Ross Kilburn, founder of American Default Research.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Grainger County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
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How is the County Distress Index calculated?
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