About one in six people in Lee County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In Lee County, 16.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 75% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lee County's score
In Lee County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 80.1. About one in three renters (32.6%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 98% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 76.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lee 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.
Lee County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (13.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent32.6% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
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- 76.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.9% · August 202556th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people381.5 · 202595th percentile
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- 56.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.3% · second quarter of 202653rd percentile
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- 48.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.9% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.7% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability13.1% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,233 · 202440th percentile
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- 25.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.7% · 2020 to 202444th 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 Lee 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 Lee County, 13.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lee County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 19.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Lee County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.8% in 2019 to 9.0% in 2020.
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 7.5% 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, Lee County, Alabama.
How Lee County has changed
Lee County's population had its largest rise, from 138,566 in 2009 to 157,988 in 2014.
Lee County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 187,847, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 80,289. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lee County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Lee County had its largest rise in the last span, from 57,378 in 2020 to 68,299 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Lee County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 68,299, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 47,099. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lee County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.5% | 2024 16.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,594 | 2024 $70,233 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Lee County's history
1866
Established December 5, 1866. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in April 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in March 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in June 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in March 2019 killed 23 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 174,241, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1975
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lee County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lee County, in Alabama and Georgia, five score higher. Of the group, Lee County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Macon County gets the largest, at 35.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell County, AL | 98 | 20.2% | 35.5% |
| Macon County, AL | 97 | 30.8% | 35.7% |
| Muscogee County, GA | 95 | 17.3% | 27.2% |
| Chambers County, AL | 90 | 18.9% | 35.7% |
| Tallapoosa County, AL | 71 | 17.0% | 31.2% |
| Lee County, AL | 61 | 16.9% | 19.7% |
| Harris County, GA | 31 | 8.8% | 21.0% |
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 Lee County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Lee County's poverty rate was 16.9% in 2024, 43rd 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, Lee County ranks 52nd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lee 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 Lee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.