Alabama County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Alabama, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 65.6. 28 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Alabama Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
65.6 Mean Score
64.0 Median Score
91.9 Dallas County Most Distressed
37.3 Shelby County Least Distressed
2 extreme county distress9 very high county distress17 high county distress13 moderate-high county distress17 moderate county distress7 moderate-low county distress2 low-moderate county distress
Score Label Distribution Alabama County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 67 Alabama counties colored by county distress score range. 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 | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Dallas County | 91.9 | extreme county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | 9 | Wilcox County | 90.9 | extreme county distress | Default & Legal |
| 3 | 31 | Sumter County | 86.5 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 4 | 34 | Greene County | 86.3 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 5 | 44 | Macon County | 85.4 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 6 | 65 | Perry County | 84.2 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 7 | 71 | Hale County | 83.8 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 8 | 81 | Russell County | 83.3 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 9 | 107 | Lowndes County | 81.8 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 10 | 117 | Bullock County | 81.4 | very high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 11 | 148 | Choctaw County | 80.0 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 12 | 188 | Pike County | 78.3 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 13 | 197 | Conecuh County | 78.0 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 14 | 218 | Butler County | 77.3 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 15 | 227 | Mobile County | 77.1 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 16 | 241 | Barbour County | 76.6 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 17 | 284 | Pickens County | 75.3 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 18 | 308 | Monroe County | 74.9 | high county distress | Labor |
| 19 | 310 | Montgomery County | 74.9 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 20 | 322 | Calhoun County | 74.7 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 21 | 327 | Escambia County | 74.5 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 22 | 329 | Marengo County | 74.3 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 23 | 389 | Clarke County | 72.7 | high county distress | Labor |
| 24 | 412 | Bibb County | 72.0 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 25 | 455 | Tuscaloosa County | 70.9 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 26 | 473 | Etowah County | 70.4 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 27 | 475 | Geneva County | 70.4 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 28 | 489 | Jefferson County | 70.0 | high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 29 | 561 | Crenshaw County | 68.8 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 30 | 594 | Randolph County | 68.3 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 31 | 624 | Talladega County | 67.8 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 32 | 658 | Chambers County | 67.2 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 33 | 662 | Fayette County | 67.1 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 34 | 818 | Covington County | 64.0 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 35 | 821 | Houston County | 63.9 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 36 | 829 | Dale County | 63.8 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 37 | 830 | Marion County | 63.8 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 38 | 887 | Colbert County | 62.7 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 39 | 940 | Walker County | 61.8 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 40 | 1,003 | Lamar County | 60.7 | moderate-high county distress | Default & Legal |
| 41 | 1,015 | Clay County | 60.6 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 42 | 1,075 | Washington County | 59.3 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 43 | 1,086 | Lee County | 59.1 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 44 | 1,112 | Coosa County | 58.7 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 45 | 1,119 | Tallapoosa County | 58.6 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 46 | 1,155 | Chilton County | 58.0 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 47 | 1,161 | Henry County | 57.9 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 48 | 1,163 | Winston County | 57.9 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 49 | 1,235 | Franklin County | 56.4 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 50 | 1,259 | Jackson County | 55.9 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 51 | 1,315 | Cherokee County | 55.0 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 52 | 1,348 | Lauderdale County | 54.4 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 53 | 1,382 | Blount County | 53.7 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 54 | 1,394 | DeKalb County | 53.5 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 55 | 1,419 | Lawrence County | 53.1 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 56 | 1,431 | Coffee County | 52.9 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 57 | 1,453 | Cullman County | 52.5 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 58 | 1,523 | Cleburne County | 51.3 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 59 | 1,632 | Autauga County | 49.2 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 60 | 1,638 | Morgan County | 49.1 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 61 | 1,661 | Marshall County | 48.6 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 62 | 1,730 | Elmore County | 47.6 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 63 | 1,787 | Baldwin County | 46.6 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 64 | 1,843 | St. Clair County | 45.6 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 65 | 1,943 | Madison County | 43.8 | moderate-low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 66 | 2,232 | Limestone County | 38.3 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 67 | 2,286 | Shelby County | 37.3 | low-moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
extreme county distress — 2 Alabama counties
very high county distress — 9 Alabama counties
high county distress — 17 Alabama counties
moderate-high county distress — 13 Alabama counties
moderate county distress — 17 Alabama counties
moderate-low county distress — 7 Alabama counties
low-moderate county distress — 2 Alabama counties
low county distress — 0 Alabama counties
very low county distress — 0 Alabama counties
exceptionally low county distress — 0 Alabama counties