About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Butler County, Alabama, are not working
In Butler County, 30.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Butler County's score
In Butler County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 92.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 843.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 89.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Butler 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.
Butler County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.7% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people843.2 · 2025top 5%
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- 89.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.7% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 86.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.3% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.4% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance12.3% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,673 · 202494th percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202644th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.3% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 64.1 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.1% · fiscal year 202779th 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 Butler 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 Butler County, 22.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Butler County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Butler County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 27.9% in 2004 to 34.0% in 2009.
In Butler County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Butler County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Butler County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (14.6% in 2009) to 18.0% in 2010.
The share of households in Butler County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 14.6% 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, Butler County, Alabama.
How Butler County has changed
Butler County's population fell by about a fifth to 18,256, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 21,160. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Butler County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Butler County rose 12% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 7,313 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Butler County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.9% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.3% | 2024 20.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,683 | 2024 $47,673 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Butler County's history
1819
Formed from Conecuh County and Monroe County, Alabama on December 13, 1819, by the Legislature at Huntsville, the first session of the Legislature of Alabama as a State. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 32,447. The 2020 Census counted 19,051, 59% of the peak. Census Bureau
1969
A tornado in April 1969 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
Lightning in March 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A thunderstorm in December 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Butler County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Butler County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Butler County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Butler County ranks 6th of the seven; Wilcox County is highest, at 45.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilcox County, AL | 99 | 34.0% | 45.5% |
| Conecuh County, AL | 97 | 22.7% | 42.4% |
| Lowndes County, AL | 97 | 25.0% | 32.3% |
| Monroe County, AL | 95 | 21.2% | 37.4% |
| Butler County, AL | 94 | 20.3% | 32.2% |
| Crenshaw County, AL | 88 | 20.4% | 31.4% |
| Covington County, AL | 83 | 18.9% | 36.2% |
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 Butler County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Butler County's poverty rate was 20.3% in 2024, 20th 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, Butler County ranks 15th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Butler 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 Butler 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 Butler County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.