About one in six people in Lauderdale County, Alabama, has a disability
In Lauderdale County, 16.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 58% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lauderdale County's score
In Lauderdale County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 74.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 293.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 66.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lauderdale 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.
Lauderdale County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.5% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people293.3 · 202590th percentile
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- 66.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.1% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 51.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.8% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance8.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,098 · 202449th percentile
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- 40.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.9% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
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- 34.2 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th 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 Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lauderdale County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lauderdale County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 28.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lauderdale County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lauderdale County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.6% in 2013 to 13.9% in 2014.
The share of households in Lauderdale County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 12.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lauderdale County, Alabama.
How Lauderdale County has changed
Lauderdale County's population rose 45% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 80,463. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lauderdale County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lauderdale County rose 16% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 32,178 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lauderdale County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 12.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,755 | 2024 $67,098 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Lauderdale County's history
1818
Established in 1818, a year before Alabama became a state. Florence, the county seat, was also established in 1818. Wikipedia
1964
A tornado in March 1964 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A thunderstorm in March 1992 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in May 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in December 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 93,564, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lauderdale County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lauderdale County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Lauderdale County, in Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, seven score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lauderdale County ranks 8th of the nine; Wayne County is highest, at 34.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardin County, TN | 85 | 18.0% | 33.8% |
| Colbert County, AL | 73 | 14.9% | 30.2% |
| Tishomingo County, MS | 68 | 15.7% | 34.2% |
| Wayne County, TN | 66 | 18.8% | 34.6% |
| Giles County, TN | 65 | 13.3% | 30.2% |
| Lawrence County, TN | 65 | 13.9% | 31.4% |
| Lawrence County, AL | 59 | 16.1% | 30.9% |
| Lauderdale County, AL | 55 | 12.8% | 28.4% |
| Limestone County, AL | 38 | 10.3% | 18.8% |
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 Lauderdale County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Lauderdale County's poverty rate was 12.8% in 2024, 60th 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, Lauderdale County ranks 60th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lauderdale 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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Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.