Shelby County, Tennessee
6× the national median for bankruptcy filing rate — and 96.5× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Glacier County, MT — 7).
Main Findings
Shelby County, Tennessee is more distressed than 96% of U.S. counties on the County Distress Index. The driver: a bankruptcy filing rate of 704 — more than double the national median of 126. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal and its lowest is Labor.
- 4th of 95 counties in Tennessee on the County Distress Index — 96 · extreme county distress, more distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
- A bankruptcy filing rate of 704 (U.S. median 126). Bankruptcy filing rate at the 100th percentile nationally. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
- Auto loan delinquency at 12% — national median 5%, ranked at the 97th percentile. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
- Severe rent burden (50%+) at 26% — national median 18%, ranked at the 91st percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
- Child poverty rate at 30% — national median 17%, ranked at the 92nd percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024).
Unemployment is 5%, near the national median of 4%, while auto loan delinquency runs at the 97th percentile. Jobs exist; wages don't close the gap.
Neighbors span three CDI score labels. The 55-point drop to Fayette County marks where the Memphis TN distress corridor ends.
Shelby County has an extreme county distress score. The five-domain profile shows where local household pressure is most concentrated.
The CDI gives this county an extreme county distress label. The score is the plain-language signal; the national rank separately shows how the county compares with every other county-equivalent in the release. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal.
Reporter's Notes
Two data points in the indicator table worth a follow-up call.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024), Shelby County's disability rate indicator is at the 21st percentile. American Default Research's CDI places every other indicator in the Safety Net & Buffer domain at or above the 55th percentile. The gap stands out against child poverty rate. Worth a call to the source agency or a local subject-matter contact in Memphis.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024), 30% of children under 18 in Shelby County live below the federal poverty line, versus 17% nationally. When a county's adult poverty rate is accompanied by a materially higher child poverty rate, the gap typically reflects single-parent household concentration or limited access to workforce-participation supports (childcare, transportation). Worth a call to the local school district's free-and-reduced-lunch coordinator or a regional United Way affiliate.
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 Shelby County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Shelby County's value shown alongside TN's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Shelby | TN median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 94 · Rank 104 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 12% | 6% | 5% | 97th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 9% | 6% | 5% | 91st | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 39% | 26% | 23% | 94th | Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 97 · Rank 11 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 40% | 28% | 23% | 94th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 704 | 216 | 126 | 100th | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 85 · Rank 283 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 24% | 22% | 21% | 78th | 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 | 26% | 17% | 18% | 91st | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Labor — domain score 65 · Rank 937 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) | 22% | 24% | 21% | 59th | 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) | 5% | 4% | 4% | 72nd | 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 66 · Rank 934 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 30% | 19% | 17% | 92nd | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 13% | 19% | 16% | 21st | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 19% | 14% | 13% | 84th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 12% | 10% | 8% | 79th | 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 Shelby County data.
Draft wire copy 127-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County is more distressed than 96% of U.S. counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
Shelby scores 96 out of 100, which means it is more distressed than 96% of U.S. counties; its score label is extreme county distress. Within Tennessee, Shelby ranks fourth 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 Shelby. A bankruptcy filing rate of 704 — more than double 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 Shelby County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Shelby County's distress score?
How does Shelby County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
Shelby County resident looking for help? HUD counselors, legal aid, and attorney referrals →