About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Cherokee County, Alabama, are not working
In Cherokee County, 29.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cherokee County's score
In Cherokee County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 83.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 257.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 86% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 76.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cherokee 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.
Cherokee County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (6.8%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.3% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people257.1 · 202586th percentile
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- 76.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.5% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
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- 66.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.4% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.3% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability21.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,632 · 202465th percentile
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- 52.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.5% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 19.8 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 rent6.8% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County, 24.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cherokee County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cherokee County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 34.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Cherokee County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cherokee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.4% in 2010 to 14.4% in 2011.
The share of households in Cherokee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 11.0%
Low on the chart: 10.2% 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, Cherokee County, Alabama.
How Cherokee County has changed
Cherokee County's population nearly doubled to 26,138, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 23,605. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cherokee County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cherokee County rose by about a quarter to 5,446, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 5,210. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cherokee County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.9% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.2% | 2024 15.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,072 | 2024 $61,632 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Cherokee County's history
1836
Created January 9, 1836 with present boundaries. Wikipedia
1838
All Cherokees who refused to leave removed by force during Indian Removal. Wikipedia
1994
F4 tornado on Palm Sunday destroyed Goshen United Methodist Church. Wikipedia
2001
A tornado in November 2001 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in November 2002 did $1.2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 25,989. The 2020 Census counted 24,971, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $19 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cherokee County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cherokee County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Cherokee County, in Alabama and Georgia, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cherokee County ranks 3rd of the eight; Chattooga County is highest, at 38.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calhoun County, AL | 90 | 18.5% | 32.6% |
| Chattooga County, GA | 89 | 18.3% | 38.1% |
| Etowah County, AL | 85 | 17.2% | 35.2% |
| Polk County, GA | 85 | 15.3% | 32.1% |
| Floyd County, GA | 80 | 14.9% | 29.3% |
| DeKalb County, AL | 71 | 21.3% | 30.3% |
| Cherokee County, AL | 66 | 15.4% | 34.3% |
| Cleburne County, AL | 58 | 14.0% | 28.5% |
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 Cherokee County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Cherokee County's poverty rate was 15.4% in 2024, 51st 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, Cherokee County ranks 49th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.