About three in ten people in Barbour County, Alabama, live below the poverty line
In Barbour County, 28.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Barbour County's score
In Barbour County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 94.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 536.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 93.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Barbour 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.
Barbour County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.8% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people536.9 · 202598th percentile
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- 93.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.5% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 87.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.1% · 202497th percentile
- Children below the poverty line37.9% · 202497th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,902 · 202496th percentile
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- 72.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.3% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 53.5 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 rent14.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.1% · fiscal year 202778th 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 Barbour 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 Barbour County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Barbour County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Barbour County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 38.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Barbour County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Barbour County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 22.9% in 2014 to 26.0% in 2015.
The share of households in Barbour County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 19.1% 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, Barbour County, Alabama.
How Barbour County has changed
Barbour County's population had its largest rise, from 25,336 in 1989 to 27,751 in 1994.
Barbour County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 28,866 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Barbour County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Barbour County had its largest rise, from 10,122 in 1995 to 11,909 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Barbour County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 11,909 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Barbour County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.9% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.2% | 2024 28.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,673 | 2024 $45,902 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Barbour County's history
1832
Established on December 18, 1832, from former Muscogee homelands and a portion of Pike County. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 35,152. The 2020 Census counted 25,223, 72% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A tornado in November 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Barbour County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Barbour County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Barbour County, in Alabama and Georgia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Barbour County ranks 4th of the nine; Quitman County is highest, at 47.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell County, AL | 98 | 20.2% | 35.5% |
| Bullock County, AL | 96 | 36.7% | 34.0% |
| Quitman County, GA | 96 | 22.3% | 47.4% |
| Pike County, AL | 95 | 22.8% | 27.6% |
| Barbour County, AL | 95 | 28.1% | 38.3% |
| Clay County, GA | 92 | 25.7% | 46.8% |
| Stewart County, GA | 91 | 30.6% | 38.4% |
| Dale County, AL | 79 | 17.3% | 31.3% |
| Henry County, AL | 62 | 16.0% | 29.3% |
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 Barbour County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Barbour County's poverty rate was 28.1% in 2024, 8th 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, Barbour County ranks 14th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Barbour 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 Barbour 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 Barbour County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.