About one in three people with a credit file in Calhoun County, Alabama, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Calhoun County, 35.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calhoun County's score
In Calhoun County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 88.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 284.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 87.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calhoun 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.
Calhoun County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.6% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people284.3 · 202589th percentile
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- 87.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.8% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.8% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 80.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.5% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.5% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability20.8% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,533 · 202485th percentile
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- 69.9 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 rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202768th percentile
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- 52.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calhoun County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Calhoun County had its largest rise, from 21.7% in 2004 to 26.8% in 2009.
In Calhoun County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 32.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Calhoun County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.4% in 2010 to 15.7% in 2011.
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 17.9%
Low on the chart: 11.8% 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, Calhoun County, Alabama.
How Calhoun County has changed
Calhoun County's population rose 13% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 121,739 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calhoun County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County had its largest drop, from 46,488 in 2010 to 43,628 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 49,075 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calhoun County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.2% | 2024 18.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,688 | 2024 $53,533 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Calhoun County's history
1832
December 18, 1832 as Benton County. Wikipedia
1865
Iron furnace operated by Confederate States of America near downtown destroyed by Union Army in 1865. Wikipedia
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 119,761. The 2020 Census counted 116,441, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
1986
A thunderstorm in August 1986 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A thunderstorm in August 1986 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
F4 tornado destroyed Piedmont's Goshen United Methodist Church on March 27, 1994, during Palm Sunday tornado outbreak. Wikipedia
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $122 million in property damage and killed eight people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A tornado in March 2021 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calhoun County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calhoun County beside its neighbors
Calhoun County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calhoun County ranks 4th of the six; Etowah County is highest, at 35.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calhoun County, AL | 90 | 18.5% | 32.6% |
| Talladega County, AL | 89 | 19.0% | 33.2% |
| Etowah County, AL | 85 | 17.2% | 35.2% |
| Cherokee County, AL | 66 | 15.4% | 34.3% |
| Cleburne County, AL | 58 | 14.0% | 28.5% |
| St. Clair County, AL | 48 | 9.7% | 25.8% |
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 Calhoun County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Calhoun County's poverty rate was 18.5% in 2024, 29th 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, Calhoun County ranks 23rd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.