In Perry County, Alabama, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 46 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Perry County's score
In Perry County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About half of people with a credit file (50.0%, 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 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Perry 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.
Perry County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (7.2%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector50.0% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people426.5 · 2025top 5%
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- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind14.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind23.5% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score66.4% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 94.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working43.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 84.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line29.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line48.2% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability23.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance7.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$37,105 · 2024top 5%
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- 70.7 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 rent17.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.8% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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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 Perry 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 Perry County, 21.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Perry County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Perry County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Alabama
In Perry County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 46.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Perry County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 38.8% in 2018 to 35.1% in 2019.
The share of households in Perry County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 33.5%
Low on the chart: 26.6% 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, Perry County, Alabama.
How Perry County has changed
Perry County's population had its largest drop, from 17,842 in 1969 to 15,184 in 1974.
Perry County's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 7,719, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1979 to 1984, reaching 14,695. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Perry County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Perry County had its largest drop, from 2,751 in 2000 to 2,266 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Perry County fell 39% from 1990 to 2025, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 2,203. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Perry County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 13.1% | 2025 6.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 49.0% | 2024 29.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $11,248 | 2024 $37,105 |
The table uses 6.1% for 2025; the score uses 6.4% 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 Perry County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 31,783. The 2020 Census counted 8,511, 27% of the peak. Census Bureau
1967
A tornado in March 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in May 1973 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Perry County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Perry County beside its neighbors
Perry County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Perry County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (46.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, AL | 99 | 29.6% | 39.8% |
| Perry County, AL | 99 | 29.8% | 46.0% |
| Hale County, AL | 96 | 21.0% | 35.7% |
| Bibb County, AL | 93 | 21.6% | 31.8% |
| Marengo County, AL | 92 | 21.6% | 34.2% |
| Chilton County, AL | 72 | 15.4% | 27.5% |
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 Perry County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Perry County's poverty rate was 29.8% in 2024, 6th 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, Perry County ranks 4th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Perry 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 Perry County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.