About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Autauga County, Alabama, is not working
In Autauga County, 23.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 66% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Autauga County's score
In Autauga County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 467.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Autauga County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Autauga County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.5%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.8% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people467.3 · 202597th percentile
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- 69.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.5% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 43.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.9% · 202447th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.7% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance7.3% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,840 · 202422nd percentile
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- 37.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.7% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
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- 31.3 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent17.3% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.5% · fiscal year 202717th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Autauga County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Autauga County, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Autauga County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Autauga County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 23.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Autauga County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Autauga County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.8% in 2019 to 10.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Autauga County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 8.5% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Autauga County, Alabama.
How Autauga County has changed
Autauga County's population had its largest rise, from 48,366 in 2004 to 54,135 in 2009.
Autauga County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 61,464, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 32,134. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Autauga County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Autauga County nearly doubled to 12,976, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 12,976. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Autauga County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 12.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,898 | 2024 $78,840 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Autauga County's history
1814
Creek Confederacy territory ceded in 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson. Wikipedia
1818
Established November 21, 1818 by act of the Alabama Territorial Legislature. Wikipedia
1833
Daniel Pratt founded Prattville with cotton gin factory. Wikipedia
1976
A tornado in March 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in February 2008 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $1.24 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 58,805, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in January 2023 killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Autauga County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Autauga County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Autauga County, four score higher. Of the group, Autauga County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Dallas County gets the largest, at 39.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, AL | 99 | 29.6% | 39.8% |
| Lowndes County, AL | 97 | 25.0% | 32.3% |
| Montgomery County, AL | 93 | 20.2% | 24.8% |
| Chilton County, AL | 72 | 15.4% | 27.5% |
| Autauga County, AL | 53 | 12.9% | 23.0% |
| Elmore County, AL | 44 | 11.1% | 24.5% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Autauga County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Autauga County's poverty rate was 12.9% in 2024, 58th highest of 67 in Alabama (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Bullock County, at 36.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Autauga County ranks 61st of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Autauga County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Services Alabama
Legal aid
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Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service
Lawyer referral
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Autauga County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Autauga County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.