About three in ten people in Macon County, Alabama, live below the poverty line
In Macon County, 30.8% of people lived below the poverty line. 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 looks at five parts of household money trouble in Macon 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.
Macon County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
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 collector44.4% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people593.4 · 2025top 5%
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- 86.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 84.2 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 rent23.0% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.0% · fiscal year 202790th percentile
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- 81.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line30.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line42.6% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability17.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,643 · 2024top 5%
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- 70.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd 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 Macon 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 Macon County, 21.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Macon County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Macon County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 39% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Macon County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Macon County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (21.0% in 2009) to 25.8% in 2010.
The share of households in Macon County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 21.0% 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, Macon County, Alabama.
How Macon County has changed
Macon County's population had its largest drop, from 22,685 in 2004 to 21,190 in 2009.
Macon County's population fell 29% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 26,585 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Macon County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Macon County had its largest drop, from 5,325 in 2010 to 4,770 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Macon County fell 29% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 4,482 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Macon County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.0% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 34.1% | 2024 30.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,374 | 2024 $43,643 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Macon County's history
1832
December 18, 1832, from land ceded by the Creek. Wikipedia
1923
Tuskegee Veterans Administration Medical Center. Wikipedia
1950
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
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Since 1975
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Macon County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
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 | 61 | 16.9% | 19.7% |
| Elmore County, AL | 44 | 11.1% | 24.5% |
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 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.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Macon 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 Macon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.