About two in five people with a credit file in Montgomery County, Alabama, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Montgomery County, 39.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montgomery County's score
In Montgomery County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 96.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 616.9 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 91.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.9% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people616.9 · 202599th percentile
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- 91.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.6% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.3% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 80.9 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 rent28.0% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202767th percentile
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- 73.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.2% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.6% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,102 · 202467th percentile
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- 47.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.9% · 2020 to 202468th 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montgomery County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montgomery County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 24.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Montgomery County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 14.8% in 2011 to 18.6% in 2013, 1.9 points each year.
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid rose to 20.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 18.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montgomery County, Alabama.
How Montgomery County has changed
Montgomery County's population had its largest rise, from 163,653 in 1969 to 182,909 in 1974.
Montgomery County's population rose 38% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 229,604 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montgomery County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County rose 16% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 135,302 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montgomery County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.8% | 2024 20.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,502 | 2024 $61,102 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Montgomery County's history
1816
Established by dividing Monroe County on December 6, 1816, by the Mississippi Territorial Legislature. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in May 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A tornado in March 1996 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in May 2009 did $1.8 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 229,363. The 2020 Census counted 228,954, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
A tornado in November 2022 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1975
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montgomery County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montgomery County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Montgomery County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Montgomery County ranks 6th of the eight; Macon County is highest, at 35.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowndes County, AL | 97 | 25.0% | 32.3% |
| Macon County, AL | 97 | 30.8% | 35.7% |
| Bullock County, AL | 96 | 36.7% | 34.0% |
| Pike County, AL | 95 | 22.8% | 27.6% |
| Montgomery County, AL | 93 | 20.2% | 24.8% |
| Crenshaw County, AL | 88 | 20.4% | 31.4% |
| Autauga County, AL | 53 | 12.9% | 23.0% |
| 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 Montgomery County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Montgomery County's poverty rate was 20.2% in 2024, 21st 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, Montgomery County ranks 17th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montgomery 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 Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.