Alabama County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Alabama, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 64.8. 33counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Alabama Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
64.8 Mean Score
63.7 Median Score
86.6 Russell County Most Distressed
44.3 Limestone County Least Distressed
3 Crisis 30 Serious 32 Elevated 2 Normal
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
Least Distressed
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 | 9 | Russell County | 86.6 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 2 | 20 | Dallas County | 84.7 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 3 | 35 | Bullock County | 82.6 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 4 | 93 | Pike County | 78.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 132 | Sumter County | 76.9 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 6 | 143 | Mobile County | 76.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 146 | Montgomery County | 76.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 8 | 162 | Macon County | 75.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 9 | 184 | Bibb County | 75.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 10 | 191 | Wilcox County | 74.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 11 | 205 | Calhoun County | 74.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 12 | 243 | Etowah County | 73.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 13 | 264 | Butler County | 73.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 14 | 265 | Greene County | 73.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 300 | Barbour County | 72.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 16 | 301 | Hale County | 72.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 17 | 305 | Jefferson County | 72.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 18 | 307 | Tuscaloosa County | 72.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 19 | 312 | Marengo County | 72.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 20 | 347 | Lowndes County | 71.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 21 | 355 | Perry County | 70.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 391 | Conecuh County | 69.9 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 23 | 393 | Escambia County | 69.9 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 24 | 401 | Pickens County | 69.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 25 | 425 | Geneva County | 69.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 457 | Chambers County | 68.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 27 | 482 | Talladega County | 68.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 28 | 533 | Covington County | 67.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 29 | 581 | Crenshaw County | 66.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 586 | Choctaw County | 66.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 31 | 589 | Randolph County | 66.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 32 | 619 | Monroe County | 65.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 33 | 621 | Houston County | 65.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 34 | 721 | Marion County | 63.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 35 | 742 | Clarke County | 63.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 36 | 744 | Lee County | 63.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 37 | 751 | Colbert County | 63.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 38 | 789 | Walker County | 62.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 39 | 797 | Dale County | 62.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 40 | 822 | Fayette County | 62.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 41 | 855 | Chilton County | 61.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 42 | 906 | Lamar County | 60.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 43 | 999 | Coosa County | 59.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 44 | 1,013 | Franklin County | 59.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 45 | 1,017 | Clay County | 59.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 46 | 1,052 | Morgan County | 58.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 47 | 1,063 | Blount County | 58.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 48 | 1,079 | Henry County | 57.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 49 | 1,087 | DeKalb County | 57.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 50 | 1,105 | Marshall County | 57.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 51 | 1,155 | Washington County | 56.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 52 | 1,164 | Lauderdale County | 56.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 53 | 1,166 | Cherokee County | 56.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 54 | 1,183 | Coffee County | 56.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 55 | 1,202 | Cullman County | 56.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 56 | 1,213 | Winston County | 55.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 57 | 1,218 | Elmore County | 55.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 58 | 1,254 | Jackson County | 55.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 59 | 1,281 | Lawrence County | 54.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 60 | 1,295 | Cleburne County | 54.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 61 | 1,411 | Baldwin County | 52.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 62 | 1,413 | Tallapoosa County | 52.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 63 | 1,426 | Autauga County | 52.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 64 | 1,434 | Madison County | 52.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 65 | 1,439 | St. Clair County | 52.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 66 | 1,809 | Shelby County | 46.6 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 67 | 1,937 | Limestone County | 44.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties