About one in five people in DeKalb County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In DeKalb County, 21.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives DeKalb County's score
In DeKalb County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.1. About three in ten children (29.4%, 2024) live below the poverty line, a higher share than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 71.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in DeKalb 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.
DeKalb County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.3% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.4% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance15.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,180 · 202484th percentile
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- 71.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.2% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people186 · 202571st percentile
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- 68.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.9% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
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- 46.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20268th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 43.9 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.4% · fiscal year 202747th 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb County, 17.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
DeKalb County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in DeKalb County had its largest rise, from 21.1% in 2004 to 29.2% in 2009.
In DeKalb County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In DeKalb County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in DeKalb County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 16.2% in 2023 to 17.7% in 2024.
The share of households in DeKalb County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 17.7%
High on the chart: 19.0% 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, DeKalb County, Alabama.
How DeKalb County has changed
DeKalb County's population had its largest rise, from 47,903 in 1974 to 53,487 in 1979.
DeKalb County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 73,122, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 70,939. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, DeKalb County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in DeKalb County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 23,861, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 24,349 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, DeKalb County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 21.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,404 | 2024 $54,180 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 DeKalb County's history
1836
Created by Alabama legislature January 9, 1836, from land ceded under duress to Federal government by Cherokee Nation prior to their forced removal to Indian Territory west of Mississippi River. Wikipedia
1973
A tornado in May 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 killed 25 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A tornado in November 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 71,608, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered DeKalb County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
DeKalb County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border DeKalb County, in Alabama and Georgia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, DeKalb County ranks 6th of the eight; Chattooga County is highest, at 38.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chattooga County, GA | 89 | 18.3% | 38.1% |
| Etowah County, AL | 85 | 17.2% | 35.2% |
| Walker County, GA | 75 | 12.8% | 30.8% |
| DeKalb County, AL | 71 | 21.3% | 30.3% |
| Jackson County, AL | 67 | 17.0% | 30.7% |
| Cherokee County, AL | 66 | 15.4% | 34.3% |
| Marshall County, AL | 58 | 15.9% | 26.0% |
| Dade County, GA | 49 | 11.6% | 28.8% |
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 DeKalb County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, DeKalb County's poverty rate was 21.3% in 2024, 16th 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, DeKalb County ranks 44th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in DeKalb 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 Northeast Alabama, Inc.
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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.