About three in ten people with a credit file in Morgan County, Alabama, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Morgan County, 29.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Morgan County's score
In Morgan County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 77.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 236.5 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 82% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Morgan 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.
Morgan County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.5% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people236.5 · 202582nd percentile
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- 69.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.1% · second quarter of 202666th percentile
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- 62.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.2% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.3% · 202461st percentile
- People with a disability18.0% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,601 · 202444th percentile
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- 37.5 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 rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th percentile
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- 37.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.1% · 2020 to 202469th 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 Morgan 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 Morgan County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Morgan County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Morgan County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 25.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Morgan County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Morgan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.4% in 2011 to 12.2% in 2012.
The share of households in Morgan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 12.2%
Low on the chart: 6.5% 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, Morgan County, Alabama.
How Morgan County has changed
Morgan County's population had its largest rise, from 74,066 in 1969 to 84,207 in 1974.
Morgan County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 126,084, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 92,421. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Morgan County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Morgan County rose by about a third to 54,551, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 54,551. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Morgan County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 2.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,343 | 2024 $68,601 |
The table uses 2.3% for 2025; the score uses 2.6% 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 Morgan County's history
1818
Created by the Alabama territorial legislature on February 6, 1818, from land acquired from the Cherokee people in the Treaty of Turkeytown, and was originally called Cotaco County. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in March 1952 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1955
A tornado in April 1955 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in April 1957 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1967
A tornado in December 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 123,421, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Morgan County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Morgan County beside its neighbors
Morgan County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Morgan County ranks 4th of the six; Lawrence County is highest, at 30.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, AL | 60 | 15.2% | 25.3% |
| Lawrence County, AL | 59 | 16.1% | 30.9% |
| Marshall County, AL | 58 | 15.9% | 26.0% |
| Cullman County, AL | 58 | 14.1% | 25.7% |
| Limestone County, AL | 38 | 10.3% | 18.8% |
| Madison County, AL | 36 | 9.6% | 17.3% |
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 Morgan County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Morgan County's poverty rate was 15.2% in 2024, 53rd 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, Morgan County ranks 53rd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Morgan 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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Community Action Partnership of North 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 Morgan 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 Morgan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.