Alabama County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Alabama, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 56.2. 12counties are in Serious Stress or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-17
Alabama Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
56.2 Mean Score
56.1 Median Score
73.0 Greene County Most Distressed
30.2 Shelby County Least Distressed
12 Serious 42 Elevated 11 Normal 2 Healthy
Zone Distribution Alabama County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 67 Alabama counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
#1 Greene County
73.0 Serious Stress
Income & Poverty #2 Russell County
73.0 Serious Stress
Debt & Delinquency #3 Dallas County
71.5 Serious Stress
Income & Poverty Least Distressed
#67 Shelby County
30.2 Healthy
Debt & Delinquency #66 Limestone County
34.4 Healthy
Debt & Delinquency #65 Madison County
36.5 Normal
Debt & Delinquency Score Distribution
How Alabama's 67 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Alabama Counties
67 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 102 | Greene County | 73.0 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 2 | 103 | Russell County | 73.0 | Serious Stress | Debt & Delinquency |
| 3 | 145 | Dallas County | 71.5 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 4 | 204 | Bullock County | 70.2 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 5 | 318 | Sumter County | 67.8 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 6 | 371 | Perry County | 67.1 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 7 | 382 | Wilcox County | 66.9 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 8 | 405 | Hale County | 66.6 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 9 | 428 | Butler County | 66.2 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 10 | 438 | Bibb County | 66.0 | Serious Stress | Debt & Delinquency |
| 11 | 457 | Calhoun County | 65.8 | Serious Stress | Debt & Delinquency |
| 12 | 481 | Lowndes County | 65.3 | Serious Stress | Income & Poverty |
| 13 | 500 | Geneva County | 64.9 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 14 | 517 | Macon County | 64.7 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 15 | 535 | Barbour County | 64.4 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 16 | 566 | Conecuh County | 64.0 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 17 | 571 | Marengo County | 63.9 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 18 | 595 | Etowah County | 63.5 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 19 | 654 | Pickens County | 62.5 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 20 | 656 | Pike County | 62.5 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 21 | 776 | Escambia County | 60.8 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 22 | 782 | Marion County | 60.7 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 23 | 824 | Chambers County | 60.1 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 24 | 896 | Monroe County | 59.1 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 25 | 950 | Montgomery County | 58.4 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 26 | 973 | Walker County | 58.2 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 27 | 978 | Choctaw County | 58.1 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 28 | 988 | Mobile County | 58.0 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 29 | 1,048 | Clarke County | 57.4 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 30 | 1,058 | Franklin County | 57.3 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 31 | 1,094 | Fayette County | 56.7 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 32 | 1,095 | Covington County | 56.7 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 33 | 1,119 | Crenshaw County | 56.4 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 34 | 1,135 | DeKalb County | 56.1 | Elevated | Income & Poverty |
| 35 | 1,151 | Talladega County | 55.9 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 36 | 1,158 | Lamar County | 55.8 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 37 | 1,177 | Tuscaloosa County | 55.5 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 38 | 1,206 | Jackson County | 55.1 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 39 | 1,209 | Blount County | 55.0 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 40 | 1,226 | Chilton County | 54.8 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 41 | 1,244 | Jefferson County | 54.5 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 42 | 1,259 | Winston County | 54.3 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 43 | 1,267 | Dale County | 54.2 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 44 | 1,268 | Clay County | 54.2 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 45 | 1,343 | Houston County | 53.4 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 46 | 1,382 | Randolph County | 52.9 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 47 | 1,398 | Colbert County | 52.7 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 48 | 1,423 | Coosa County | 52.4 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 49 | 1,474 | Coffee County | 51.6 | Elevated | Community Vulnerability |
| 50 | 1,507 | Lee County | 51.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 51 | 1,543 | Lauderdale County | 50.6 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 52 | 1,549 | Cherokee County | 50.5 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 53 | 1,552 | Henry County | 50.5 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 54 | 1,564 | Cullman County | 50.4 | Elevated | Debt & Delinquency |
| 55 | 1,654 | Cleburne County | 49.3 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 56 | 1,661 | Lawrence County | 49.2 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 57 | 1,695 | Marshall County | 48.8 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 58 | 1,792 | Tallapoosa County | 47.5 | Normal | Community Vulnerability |
| 59 | 1,836 | Morgan County | 46.9 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 60 | 2,055 | Washington County | 44.3 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 61 | 2,139 | Elmore County | 43.1 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 62 | 2,205 | Autauga County | 42.1 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 63 | 2,281 | St. Clair County | 41.1 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 64 | 2,285 | Baldwin County | 41.0 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 65 | 2,565 | Madison County | 36.5 | Normal | Debt & Delinquency |
| 66 | 2,679 | Limestone County | 34.4 | Healthy | Debt & Delinquency |
| 67 | 2,879 | Shelby County | 30.2 | Healthy | Debt & Delinquency |
0 of 67 county reports for Alabama are currently available. All 67 counties are scored and visible on the map above. New county reports are published weekly.
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using percentile-rank averaging across five data domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater financial distress.
Crisis (80+) — Extreme distress across multiple domains
Serious Stress (65–80) — Significant distress, multiple domains elevated
Elevated (50–65) — Above-average distress in several areas
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Below-average distress