About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Coffee County, Alabama, is not working
In Coffee County, 23.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 65% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coffee County's score
In Coffee County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 81.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 472.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 54.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coffee 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.
Coffee County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.4%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.1% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people472.7 · 202597th percentile
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- 54.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.9% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 54.0 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 line17.7% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.4% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,584 · 202436th percentile
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- 41.6 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 rent19.4% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th percentile
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- 38.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.4% · 2020 to 202465th 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 Coffee 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 Coffee County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coffee County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Coffee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 26.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Coffee County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coffee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.2% in 2012 to 12.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Coffee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 11.5%
Low on the chart: 9.5% 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, Coffee County, Alabama.
How Coffee County has changed
Coffee County's population had its largest rise, from 45,053 in 2004 to 49,440 in 2009.
Coffee County's population rose by more than half to 56,358, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 56,358 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coffee County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Coffee County rose 41% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 14,855. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coffee County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 12.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,856 | 2024 $71,584 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Coffee County's history
1841
Formed December 29, 1841, from the western part of Dale County. Wikipedia
1998
A flash flood in March 1998 did $105 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in June 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A tornado in March 2007 did $250 million in property damage and killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in December 2015 did $1.72 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 53,465, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1975
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coffee County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coffee County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Coffee County score higher than it does. Of the group, Coffee County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Covington County gets the largest, at 36.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County, AL | 95 | 22.8% | 27.6% |
| Crenshaw County, AL | 88 | 20.4% | 31.4% |
| Geneva County, AL | 86 | 17.1% | 34.7% |
| Covington County, AL | 83 | 18.9% | 36.2% |
| Dale County, AL | 79 | 17.3% | 31.3% |
| Coffee County, AL | 55 | 12.9% | 26.5% |
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 Coffee County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Coffee 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, Coffee County ranks 59th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coffee 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 Coffee 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 Coffee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.