About one in four people in Coosa County, Alabama, has a disability
In Coosa County, 25.8% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coosa County's score
In Coosa County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 672 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 81.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coosa 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.
Coosa County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.0%, 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.
- 93.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.9% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people672 · 2025top 5%
-
- 81.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.4% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
-
- 80.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.1% · 202484th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.4% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability25.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,054 · 202486th percentile
-
- 47.1 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 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.2% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
-
- 30.0 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 rent8.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
-
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 Coosa 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 Coosa County, 25.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coosa County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Coosa County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 39% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Coosa County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coosa County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.7% in 2012 to 18.6% in 2013.
The share of households in Coosa County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 16.2%
Low on the chart: 10.3% 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, Coosa County, Alabama.
How Coosa County has changed
Coosa County's population had its largest rise, from 11,073 in 1989 to 11,794 in 1994.
Coosa County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 12,135 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coosa County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Coosa County had its largest drop, from 1,990 in 2000 to 1,628 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Coosa County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,456, with its low point on the chart in 2015
Low on the chart: 1,291 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coosa County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.9% | 2024 19.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,215 | 2024 $53,054 |
The table uses 3.0% 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 Coosa County's history
1832
County established December 18, 1832, from parts of Montgomery and Shelby counties. Gained small snippet from Montgomery County in 1837 and lost portion to south upon creation of Elmore County in 1866. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 16,634. The 2020 Census counted 10,387, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
1968
A tornado in November 1968 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1977
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coosa County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coosa County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Coosa County, one scores higher. Of the group, Coosa County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (36.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talladega County, AL | 89 | 19.0% | 33.2% |
| Coosa County, AL | 77 | 19.1% | 36.0% |
| Clay County, AL | 76 | 17.4% | 34.6% |
| Chilton County, AL | 72 | 15.4% | 27.5% |
| Tallapoosa County, AL | 71 | 17.0% | 31.2% |
| Elmore County, AL | 44 | 11.1% | 24.5% |
| Shelby County, AL | 21 | 6.8% | 14.2% |
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 Coosa County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Coosa County's poverty rate was 19.1% in 2024, 24th 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, Coosa County ranks 36th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coosa 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.
-
Legal Services Alabama
Legal aid
-
Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service
Lawyer referral
-
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.
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 Coosa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.