About one in six people in Franklin County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In Franklin County, 17.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 79.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 242.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 76.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin 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.
Franklin County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.5% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people242.1 · 202583rd percentile
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- 76.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.9% · 202479th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.5% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability16.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- People without health insurance12.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,059 · 202480th percentile
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- 72.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.6% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 43.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 26.1 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 rent10.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202738th 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Franklin County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 24.7% in 2004 to 30.1% in 2009.
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.2% in 2012 to 17.0% in 2013.
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 20.0%
High on the chart: 21.3% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Franklin County, Alabama.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population had its largest rise, from 23,374 in 1969 to 26,832 in 1974.
Franklin County's population rose 36% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 32,115 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 10,994, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 11,319 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.4% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 17.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,607 | 2024 $56,059 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Franklin County's history
1818
Established February 6, 1818. Wikipedia
1971
A tornado in February 1971 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $50 million in property damage and killed 27 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 32,113, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Franklin County, in Alabama and Mississippi, four score higher. Of the group, Franklin County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Tishomingo County gets the largest, at 34.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, AL | 81 | 16.3% | 32.3% |
| Colbert County, AL | 73 | 14.9% | 30.2% |
| Winston County, AL | 68 | 16.1% | 33.1% |
| Tishomingo County, MS | 68 | 15.7% | 34.2% |
| Franklin County, AL | 65 | 17.9% | 30.1% |
| Itawamba County, MS | 60 | 18.7% | 31.4% |
| Lawrence County, AL | 59 | 16.1% | 30.9% |
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 Franklin County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 17.9% in 2024, 32nd 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, Franklin County ranks 50th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin 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 - Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.