Macon County, Alabama

County Distress Index: Elevated · 64.7 | 18,370 people · 14th most distressed in Alabama
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Macon County, AL registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 64.7 — 517th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Alabama, it ranks 14th 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. Macon County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 94.5 — worse than roughly 95% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 94.5
Poverty Rate 95
Income vs. State Median 94
Child Poverty Rate 95
Debt & Delinquency 81.5
Debt in Collections 95
Medical Debt 58
Student Loan Delinquency 78
Auto Loan Delinquency 94
Credit Card Delinquency 69
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 95
Housing Cost Burden 68.4
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 60
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 79
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 24
Homeownership Rate 85
Rent-to-Income Ratio 94
Community Vulnerability 61.1
Uninsured Rate 59
Disability Rate 63
Employment & Wages 18.1
Unemployment Rate 27
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 13
Business Formation Rate 15

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Macon County
Macon County, AL 64.7 Elevated —
Russell County, AL 73.0 Serious +8.3
Bullock County, AL 70.2 Serious +5.5
Montgomery County, AL 58.4 Elevated -6.3
Lee County, AL 51.1 Elevated -13.6
Tallapoosa County, AL 47.5 Normal -17.2
Elmore County, AL 43.1 Normal -21.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Macon County
Amite County, MS 64.7 Elevated +0.0
Big Horn County, MT 64.7 Elevated +0.0
Dooly County, GA 64.7 Elevated -0.0
Bacon County, GA 64.8 Elevated +0.0
Crawford County, GA 64.6 Elevated -0.1

Download Data

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

Find Help in Macon County

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Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service 1-800-392-5660

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Frequently Asked Questions

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

    Macon County has a County Distress Index score of 64.7 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 517th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 14th in Alabama out of 67 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Macon County?

    The primary driver of distress in Macon County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 94.5 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Macon County compare to neighboring counties?

    Macon County (64.7) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Russell County, AL (73.0); Bullock County, AL (70.2); Montgomery County, AL (58.4).

  • 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 Macon County?

    Macon County, Alabama has a population of approximately 18,370 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a small county.