About one in four people in Hale County, Alabama, has a disability
In Hale County, 24.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hale County's score
In Hale County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 92.8. Late payments on loans come next, at 90.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hale 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.
Hale County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (6.2%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.6% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people429.9 · 2025top 5%
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- 90.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.2% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score62.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 80.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.0% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.1% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability24.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance6.2% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,041 · 202491st percentile
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- 78.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.7% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 68.3 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 rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.9% · fiscal year 202793rd 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 Hale 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 Hale County, 20.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hale County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hale County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 35.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Hale County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Hale County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 27.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 21.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hale County, Alabama.
How Hale County has changed
Hale County's population fell by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15,116, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 18,512 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hale County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Hale County had its largest drop, from 3,510 in 2005 to 2,905 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Hale County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 29% since
High on the chart: 3,755 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hale County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.8% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 35.9% | 2024 21.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,949 | 2024 $50,041 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Hale County's history
1867
Established January 30, 1867, following the end of the American Civil War, from portions of Greene, Marengo, Perry, and Tuscaloosa counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 31,011. The 2020 Census counted 14,785, 48% of the peak. Census Bureau
1973
A tornado in May 1973 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in March 1992 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
Lightning in May 1999 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $17 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hale County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hale County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hale County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hale County ranks 3rd of the six; Perry County is highest, at 46.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, AL | 99 | 33.7% | 44.3% |
| Perry County, AL | 99 | 29.8% | 46.0% |
| Hale County, AL | 96 | 21.0% | 35.7% |
| Bibb County, AL | 93 | 21.6% | 31.8% |
| Marengo County, AL | 92 | 21.6% | 34.2% |
| 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 Hale County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Hale County's poverty rate was 21.0% in 2024, 18th 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, Hale County ranks 10th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hale 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 Hale County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.