About one in three people in Macon County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In Macon County, 30.8% of people lived below the poverty line (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024). That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Macon County's score
In Macon County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About two in five people with a credit file (44.4%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 86.3.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Macon County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Macon County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector44.4% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people593.4 · 202595th percentile
-
- 86.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.5% · Q4 202595th percentile
-
- 84.2 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.0% · fiscal year 202790th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent23.0% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
-
- 81.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line42.6% · 202495th percentile
- People with a disability17.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,643 · 202495th percentile
- People below the poverty line30.8% · 202495th percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
-
- 70.1 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.2% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202657th percentile
-
Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Macon County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Macon County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Macon County in 2024, pay from work was 50 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 15 cents. Benefit checks were 36 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 13 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Macon County, benefit checks rose from 13 to 36 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Macon County, Alabama: 35.7% and 49.5% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 35.7% of all personal income in Macon County, Alabama (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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 Macon County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Macon County has changed
The number of people living in Macon County fell by about three in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 25,722 to 18,159. The number of jobs located there fell by about three in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 9.0% in 1990 to 4.0% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 25,722 | 2024 18,159 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 6,989 | 2024 4,827 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.0% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 34.1% | 2024 30.8% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $15,374 | 2024 $43,643 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 13.1% | 2024 35.7% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Macon County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 30,561. The 2020 Census counted 19,532, 64% of the peak. Census Bureau
1832
December 18, 1832, from land ceded by the Creek. Wikipedia
1923
Tuskegee Veterans Administration Medical Center. Wikipedia
-
Since 1975
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Macon County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Macon County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Macon County, one scores higher. Of the group, Macon County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (35.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell County, AL | 98 | 20.2% | 35.5% |
| Macon County, AL | 97 | 30.8% | 35.7% |
| Bullock County, AL | 96 | 36.7% | 34.0% |
| Montgomery County, AL | 93 | 20.2% | 24.8% |
| Tallapoosa County, AL | 71 | 17.0% | 31.2% |
| Lee County, AL | 64 | 16.9% | 19.7% |
| Elmore County, AL | 45 | 11.1% | 24.5% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Macon County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Macon County's poverty rate was 30.8% in 2024, 5th 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, Macon County ranks 8th of 67 in the state.
Macon County in photographs
Places in Macon County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
This is a picture of the Tuskegee City Center in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Photo: Not stated on the file page via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Macon County, Alabama: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Macon County, Alabama?
30.8% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in three people. Among children it was 42.6%.
Is Macon County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Macon County's poverty rate was 30.8% in 2024, 5th 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, Macon County ranks 8th of 67 in the state.
What is the population of Macon County, Alabama?
About 18,159 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 19,532, 64% of the county's peak of 30,561 in 1950.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Macon County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
-
Legal Services Alabama
Legal aid
-
Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Macon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.