About three in ten people with a credit file in Houston County, Alabama, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Houston County, 31.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Houston County's score
In Houston County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 88.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 636.2 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 73.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Houston 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.
Houston County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.4% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people636.2 · 202599th percentile
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- 73.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.0% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.8% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability17.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,056 · 202472nd percentile
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- 70.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.1% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
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- 50.7 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 rent20.3% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202738th percentile
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- 47.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202616th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.8% · 2020 to 202477th 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 Houston 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 Houston County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Houston County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Houston County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Houston County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Houston County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 11.9% in 2011 to 13.1% in 2012; 14.8% in 2022 to 16.0% in 2023.
The share of households in Houston County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 16.1%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 13.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Houston County, Alabama.
How Houston County has changed
Houston County's population had its largest rise, from 56,313 in 1969 to 68,537 in 1974.
Houston County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 109,366, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 106,860. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Houston County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Houston County rose by about a quarter to 51,288, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 51,288. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Houston County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.7% | 2024 17.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,816 | 2024 $59,056 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Houston County's history
1903
Established February 9, 1903, from parts of Dale, Geneva, and Henry counties. Wikipedia
2013
A thunderstorm in June 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in January 2017 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Lightning in July 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 107,202, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A tornado in January 2024 did $6 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Houston County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Houston County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Houston County, in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, five score higher. Of the group, Houston County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Jackson County gets the largest, at 39.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early County, GA | 98 | 26.7% | 36.0% |
| Seminole County, GA | 94 | 22.5% | 34.2% |
| Jackson County, FL | 88 | 19.4% | 39.2% |
| 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% |
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 Houston County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Houston County's poverty rate was 17.0% in 2024, 40th 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, Houston County ranks 37th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.