In Greene County, Alabama, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 44 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greene County's score
In Greene County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About half of people with a credit file (47.7%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 94.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greene 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.
Greene County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector47.7% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people558.5 · 2025top 5%
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- 94.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.6% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score69.1% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 94.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working36.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 93.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line33.7% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line51.6% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability25.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance13.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$35,813 · 2024top 5%
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- 63.2 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income39.0% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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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 Greene 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 Greene County, 25.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greene County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Greene County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Alabama
In Greene County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Greene County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 38.9% in 2019 to 26.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Greene County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 25.4% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Greene County, Alabama.
How Greene County has changed
Greene County's population fell by about half to 7,127, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 10,640. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greene County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Greene County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,748, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 2,521 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greene County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 6.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 42.2% | 2024 33.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,303 | 2024 $35,813 |
The table uses 6.5% for 2025; the score uses 6.1% 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 Greene County's history
1819
Established December 13, 1819. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 24,182. The 2020 Census counted 7,730, 32% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greene County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greene County beside its neighbors
Greene County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Greene County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (44.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, AL | 99 | 33.7% | 44.3% |
| Sumter County, AL | 97 | 32.6% | 39.7% |
| Hale County, AL | 96 | 21.0% | 35.7% |
| Marengo County, AL | 92 | 21.6% | 34.2% |
| Pickens County, AL | 92 | 22.0% | 36.2% |
| Tuscaloosa County, AL | 74 | 16.5% | 22.8% |
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 Greene County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Greene County's poverty rate was 33.7% in 2024, 3rd 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, Greene County ranks 3rd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greene 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 Greene 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 Greene County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.