About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Dale County, Alabama, are not working
In Dale County, 30.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dale County's score
In Dale County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 88.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 597.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 77.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dale 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.
Dale County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.3% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people597.5 · 202599th percentile
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- 77.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.0% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 75.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.3% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.8% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability20.0% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,359 · 202475th percentile
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- 60.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202629th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 34.4 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.9% · fiscal year 202731st 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 Dale 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 Dale County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dale County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Dale County had its largest rise, from 11.4% in 1989 to 15.4% in 1994.
In Dale County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about seven times its 1969 level, reaching 31.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Dale County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income grew to about seven times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dale County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 13.2% in 2010 to 14.7% in 2011; 19.2% in 2018 to 17.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Dale County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 18.4%
High on the chart: 19.2% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dale County, Alabama.
How Dale County has changed
Dale County's population had its largest drop, from 49,802 in 1969 to 44,370 in 1974.
Dale County's population fell to its lowest on the chart in 1974, then climbed past the 1969 level
Low on the chart: 44,370 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dale County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Dale County fell most sharply after its 2010 high, from 18,248 in 2010 to 16,470 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Dale County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2015
Low on the chart: 16,470 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dale County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 17.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,419 | 2024 $58,359 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Dale County's history
1955
A tornado in October 1955 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 52,938. The 2020 Census counted 49,326, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
1972
A tornado in January 1972 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in March 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in November 2001 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dale County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dale County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Dale County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dale County ranks 3rd of the seven; Barbour County is highest, at 38.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County, AL | 95 | 22.8% | 27.6% |
| Barbour County, AL | 95 | 28.1% | 38.3% |
| Geneva County, AL | 86 | 17.1% | 34.7% |
| Dale County, AL | 79 | 17.3% | 31.3% |
| Houston County, AL | 77 | 17.0% | 27.5% |
| Henry County, AL | 62 | 16.0% | 29.3% |
| 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 Dale County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Dale County's poverty rate was 17.3% in 2024, 37th 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, Dale County ranks 35th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dale 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.
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 Dale County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.