About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Lowndes County, Alabama, are not working
In Lowndes County, 38.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lowndes County's score
In Lowndes County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About two in five people with a credit file (43.4%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 87.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lowndes 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.
Lowndes County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.2%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (7.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector43.4% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people792.4 · 2025top 5%
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- 87.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working38.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 83.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.0% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line38.3% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability21.0% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,580 · 2024top 5%
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- 82.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score59.9% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 69.8 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 rent17.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.6% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lowndes County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lowndes County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Lowndes County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lowndes County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 28.2% in 2014 to 31.5% in 2015.
The share of households in Lowndes County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 28.9%
Low on the chart: 23.1% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lowndes County, Alabama.
How Lowndes County has changed
Lowndes County's population fell 37% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 13,763. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lowndes County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Lowndes County had its largest drop, from 3,087 in 2005 to 2,636 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Lowndes County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 3,087 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lowndes County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 15.8% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 39.0% | 2024 25.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,301 | 2024 $46,580 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Lowndes County's history
1830
Lowndes County was formed from Montgomery, Dallas and Butler counties by an act of the Alabama General Assembly on January 20, 1830. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 35,651. The 2020 Census counted 10,311, 29% of the peak. Census Bureau
1920
Boll weevil infestation decimated cotton crops reducing farm labor need in 1920s-1930s. Wikipedia
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Since 1975
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lowndes County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lowndes County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lowndes County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lowndes County ranks 3rd of the seven; Wilcox County is highest, at 45.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, AL | 99 | 29.6% | 39.8% |
| Wilcox County, AL | 99 | 34.0% | 45.5% |
| Lowndes County, AL | 97 | 25.0% | 32.3% |
| Butler County, AL | 94 | 20.3% | 32.2% |
| Montgomery County, AL | 93 | 20.2% | 24.8% |
| Crenshaw County, AL | 88 | 20.4% | 31.4% |
| Autauga County, AL | 53 | 12.9% | 23.0% |
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 Lowndes County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Lowndes County's poverty rate was 25.0% in 2024, 9th 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, Lowndes County ranks 7th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lowndes 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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.