About one in five people in Crenshaw County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In Crenshaw County, 20.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Crenshaw County's score
In Crenshaw County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 91.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 633.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 86.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Crenshaw 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.
Crenshaw County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.0% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people633.5 · 2025top 5%
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- 86.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.7% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.0% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 76.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.4% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.6% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,238 · 202489th percentile
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- 61.7 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 rent20.5% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
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- 50.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.3% · 2020 to 202478th 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 Crenshaw 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 Crenshaw County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Crenshaw County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Crenshaw County had its largest rise, from 24.5% in 2004 to 30.5% in 2009.
In Crenshaw County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 31.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Crenshaw County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Crenshaw County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.5% in 2019 to 20.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Crenshaw County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 14.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Crenshaw County, Alabama.
How Crenshaw County has changed
Crenshaw County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2009 and 2014
High on the chart: 14,084 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Crenshaw County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Crenshaw County fell most sharply after its 1995 high, from 3,814 in 1995 to 3,074 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Crenshaw County fell 7% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2000
Low on the chart: 3,074 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Crenshaw County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.6% | 2024 20.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,765 | 2024 $51,238 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Crenshaw County's history
1866
Established November 30, 1866, during Reconstruction era, from parts of Butler, Coffee, Covington, Pike and Lowndes counties. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 23,656. The 2020 Census counted 13,194, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in January 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in April 2017 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Crenshaw County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Crenshaw County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Crenshaw County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Crenshaw County ranks 4th of the seven; Covington County is highest, at 36.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowndes County, AL | 97 | 25.0% | 32.3% |
| Pike County, AL | 95 | 22.8% | 27.6% |
| Butler County, AL | 94 | 20.3% | 32.2% |
| Montgomery County, AL | 93 | 20.2% | 24.8% |
| Crenshaw County, AL | 88 | 20.4% | 31.4% |
| Covington County, AL | 83 | 18.9% | 36.2% |
| 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 Crenshaw County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Crenshaw County's poverty rate was 20.4% in 2024, 19th 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, Crenshaw County ranks 27th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Crenshaw 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 Crenshaw 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 Crenshaw County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.