About one in five people in Pickens County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In Pickens County, 22.0% 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 Pickens County's score
In Pickens County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 13.2%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 88.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pickens 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.
Pickens County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.6%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score53.0% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 88.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.0% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people529.8 · 2025top 5%
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- 82.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.0% · 202491st percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.6% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability22.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,960 · 202492nd percentile
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- 68.9 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 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.1% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 54.3 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202767th 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 Pickens 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 Pickens County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pickens County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pickens County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Pickens County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pickens County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 21.3% in 2015 to 18.4% in 2016.
The share of households in Pickens County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 18.5%
Low on the chart: 14.7% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pickens County, Alabama.
How Pickens County has changed
Pickens County's population had its largest rise, from 20,376 in 1969 to 21,463 in 1974.
Pickens County's population fell 9% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 21,835 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pickens County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Pickens County fell most sharply after its 1995 high, from 4,813 in 1995 to 4,347 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Pickens County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2020, reaching 3,561, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 4,813 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pickens County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.2% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.2% | 2024 22.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,165 | 2024 $48,960 |
The table uses 3.9% 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 Pickens County's history
1820
Established December 20, 1820. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 27,671. The 2020 Census counted 19,123, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
1974
A tornado in April 1974 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A tornado in March 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flash flood in January 2009 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A tornado in January 2020 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pickens County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pickens County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Pickens County, in Alabama and Mississippi, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pickens County ranks 6th of the eight; Greene County is highest, at 44.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, AL | 99 | 33.7% | 44.3% |
| Noxubee County, MS | 99 | 27.4% | 38.8% |
| Sumter County, AL | 97 | 32.6% | 39.7% |
| Pickens County, AL | 92 | 22.0% | 36.2% |
| Lowndes County, MS | 81 | 17.5% | 27.0% |
| Fayette County, AL | 79 | 17.5% | 36.4% |
| Lamar County, AL | 76 | 18.1% | 38.4% |
| Tuscaloosa County, AL | 74 | 16.5% | 22.8% |
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 Pickens County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Pickens County's poverty rate was 22.0% in 2024, 12th 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, Pickens County ranks 20th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pickens 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 Pickens 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 Pickens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.