About one in four people in Lamar County, Alabama, has a disability
In Lamar County, 22.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lamar County's score
In Lamar County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 76.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 329.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 75.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lamar 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.
Lamar County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.9% · August 202560th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people329.4 · 202593rd percentile
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- 75.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.3% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability22.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance8.0% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,598 · 202483rd percentile
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- 73.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.8% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 53.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.5% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 49.6 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 rent18.8% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202745th 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 Lamar 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 Lamar County, 22.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lamar County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lamar County had its largest rise, from 29.1% in 2004 to 37.7% in 2009.
In Lamar County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 38.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Lamar County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lamar County getting SNAP food aid fell most from 24.8% in 2015 to 18.2% in 2017, 3.3 points each year.
The share of households in Lamar County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 20.5%
Low on the chart: 15.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lamar County, Alabama.
How Lamar County has changed
Lamar County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1999 and 2004
High on the chart: 16,329 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lamar County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Lamar County had its largest drop, from 5,156 in 2000 to 4,068 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Lamar County fell 42% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 6,033 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lamar County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.7% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,093 | 2024 $54,598 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Lamar County's history
1877
Founded February 8, 1877, renamed from Jones County. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 19,708. The 2020 Census counted 13,972, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1989
A tornado in February 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Lightning in September 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in November 2001 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lamar County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lamar County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Lamar County, in Alabama and Mississippi, score higher than it does. Of the group, Lamar County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (38.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County, MS | 93 | 18.2% | 33.5% |
| Pickens County, AL | 92 | 22.0% | 36.2% |
| Marion County, AL | 81 | 16.3% | 32.3% |
| Lowndes County, MS | 81 | 17.5% | 27.0% |
| Fayette County, AL | 79 | 17.5% | 36.4% |
| Lamar County, AL | 76 | 18.1% | 38.4% |
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 Lamar County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Lamar County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 30th 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, Lamar County ranks 38th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lamar 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 Lamar County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.