About three in ten people with a credit file in Colbert County, Alabama, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Colbert County, 29.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Colbert County's score
In Colbert County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 84.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 399.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 72.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Colbert 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.
Colbert County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.8% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people399.2 · 202596th percentile
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- 72.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.2% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 63.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.9% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.2% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability18.3% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,972 · 202461st percentile
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- 57.5 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 rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
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- 41.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th 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 Colbert 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 Colbert County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Colbert County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Colbert County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Colbert County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Colbert County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.6% in 2015 to 13.8% in 2016.
The share of households in Colbert County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 14.5%
Low on the chart: 8.9% 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, Colbert County, Alabama.
How Colbert County has changed
Colbert County's population rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 50,779 in 1974 to 54,097 in 1979.
Colbert County's population rose 16% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 58,785 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Colbert County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Colbert County rose 9% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 24,754 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Colbert County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.8% | 2024 14.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,964 | 2024 $62,972 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Colbert County's history
1870
Originally established February 6, 1867 during Reconstruction; abolished November 29, 1867; restored by legislature February 24, 1870 after vote January 6, 1870. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in February 1953 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1958
A tornado in April 1958 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A thunderstorm in August 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 57,227, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A thunderstorm in April 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Colbert County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Colbert County beside its neighbors
Colbert County scores higher than all four counties that border it, in Alabama and Mississippi. For the share of income from benefit checks, Colbert County ranks 3rd of the five; Tishomingo County is highest, at 34.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colbert County, AL | 73 | 14.9% | 30.2% |
| Tishomingo County, MS | 68 | 15.7% | 34.2% |
| Franklin County, AL | 65 | 17.9% | 30.1% |
| Lawrence County, AL | 59 | 16.1% | 30.9% |
| Lauderdale County, AL | 55 | 12.8% | 28.4% |
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 Colbert County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Colbert County's poverty rate was 14.9% in 2024, 54th 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, Colbert County ranks 42nd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Colbert 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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Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama - Colbert County
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Colbert 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 Colbert County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.