About one in five people in Marengo County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In Marengo County, 21.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Marengo County's score
In Marengo County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 92.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 358.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 84.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Marengo 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.
Marengo County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.3% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people358.6 · 202594th percentile
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- 84.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.6% · 202491st percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.0% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability21.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,716 · 202491st percentile
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- 82.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score59.3% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 69.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 56.8 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th 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 Marengo 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 Marengo 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
Marengo County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Marengo County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 34.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Marengo County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Marengo County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.1% in 2022 to 23.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Marengo County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 23.6%
Low on the chart: 16.8% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Marengo County, Alabama.
How Marengo County has changed
Marengo County's population fell by about a third to 18,512, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 24,273. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Marengo County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Marengo County had its largest drop, from 8,038 in 2005 to 6,891 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Marengo County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 8,191 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Marengo County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.9% | 2024 21.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,240 | 2024 $49,716 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Marengo County's history
1818
Created by Alabama Territorial legislature February 6, 1818 from land acquired from Choctaw by Treaty of Fort St. Stephens October 24, 1816. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 39,923. The 2020 Census counted 19,323, 48% of the peak. Census Bureau
1940
Great Migration from Marengo County during World War II, county population diminished rapidly 1940-1970. Wikipedia
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $3.99 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $3.48 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $14 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A tornado in February 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Marengo County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Marengo County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Marengo County, seven score higher. Of the group, Marengo County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Perry County gets the largest, at 46.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, AL | 99 | 29.6% | 39.8% |
| Wilcox County, AL | 99 | 34.0% | 45.5% |
| Greene County, AL | 99 | 33.7% | 44.3% |
| Perry County, AL | 99 | 29.8% | 46.0% |
| Sumter County, AL | 97 | 32.6% | 39.7% |
| Hale County, AL | 96 | 21.0% | 35.7% |
| Choctaw County, AL | 93 | 21.9% | 39.2% |
| Marengo County, AL | 92 | 21.6% | 34.2% |
| Clarke County, AL | 91 | 17.8% | 35.7% |
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 Marengo County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Marengo County's poverty rate was 21.6% in 2024, 14th 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, Marengo County ranks 19th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Marengo 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 Marengo 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 Marengo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.