Jackson County, Alabama

County Distress Index: Elevated · 55.1 | 53,467 people · 38th most distressed in Alabama
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Jackson County, AL registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 55.1 — 1206th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Community Vulnerability, where uninsured and disability rates are well above the national average. Within Alabama, it ranks 38th of 67 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Jackson County's primary driver is Community Vulnerability at 78.3 — worse than roughly 78% of U.S. counties.

Community Vulnerability Primary driver 78.3
Uninsured Rate 68
Disability Rate 89
Debt & Delinquency 65.8
Debt in Collections 65
Medical Debt 79
Student Loan Delinquency 74
Auto Loan Delinquency 32
Credit Card Delinquency 65
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 80
Income & Poverty 60.1
Poverty Rate 68
Income vs. State Median 55
Child Poverty Rate 57
Employment & Wages 36.5
Unemployment Rate 10
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 5
Business Formation Rate 94
Housing Cost Burden 34.7
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 45
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 38
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 24
Homeownership Rate 47
Rent-to-Income Ratio 20

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Jackson County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Jackson County
Jackson County, AL 55.1 Elevated —
Marion County, TN 64.5 Elevated +9.4
DeKalb County, AL 56.1 Elevated +1.0
Dade County, GA 54.7 Elevated -0.4
Franklin County, TN 49.8 Normal -5.3
Marshall County, AL 48.8 Normal -6.3
Madison County, AL 36.5 Normal -18.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Jackson County
Greenwood County, SC 55.1 Elevated +0.0
Creek County, OK 55.1 Elevated -0.0
Blount County, AL 55.0 Elevated -0.0
Raleigh County, WV 55.0 Elevated -0.1
Kaufman County, TX 55.1 Elevated +0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Jackson County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Jackson County

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Jackson County, Alabama?

    Jackson County has a County Distress Index score of 55.1 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 1,206th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 38th in Alabama out of 67 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Jackson County?

    The primary driver of distress in Jackson County is Community Vulnerability, where the county scores 78.3 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Uninsured Rate, Disability Rate.

  • How does Jackson County compare to neighboring counties?

    Jackson County (55.1) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Marion County, TN (64.5); DeKalb County, AL (56.1); Dade County, GA (54.7).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Jackson County?

    Jackson County, Alabama has a population of approximately 53,467 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a mid county.