About two in five people with a credit file in Russell County, Alabama, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Russell County, 44.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Russell County's score
In Russell County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 98.2. About two in five people with a credit file (44.5%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 98% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 94.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Russell 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.
Russell County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, 12-month average (3.7%, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 98.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector44.5% · August 202598th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people483.5 · 202598th percentile
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- 94.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a credit card behind10.1% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.5% · second quarter of 202695th percentile
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- 87.9 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.0% · fiscal year 202790th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.5% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 84.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line31.1% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability19.8% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,867 · 202484th percentile
- People below the poverty line20.2% · 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance11.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 62.7 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.1% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average3.7% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202637th percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Russell County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks. 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 Russell County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Russell County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Russell County in 2024, pay from work was 49 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 16 cents. Benefit checks were 36 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
In Russell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in about 38% more than benefit checks
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Russell County, Alabama, every fifth year and 2024: benefit checks 8.5% and pay 79.4% in 1969; benefit checks 35.5% and pay 48.9% in 2024.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
Benefit checks have grown from 9 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis counts SNAP food aid as one of the benefit checks. In the SNAP chart below, the biggest rise came between 2011 and 2012.
The share of households in Russell County getting SNAP food aid rose from 16.8% in 2009 to 20.1% in 2024
High: 21.6% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Russell County, Alabama.
How Russell County has changed
In the population chart below, the last step, from 2019 to 2024, was a drop.
Russell County's population rose by about 27% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 2009 and 2014
High: 59,729 in 2014; low: 45,771 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Russell County, Alabama.
In the jobs chart below, the biggest drop came between 2000 and 2005.
The number of jobs located in Russell County rose by about 15% from 1990 to 2024, ending at its highest point
Biggest drop: 13,560 in 2000 to 12,510 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2024, Russell County, Alabama.
The number of people living in Russell County grew by about 27% between 1969 and 2024, from 46,329 to 58,837. The number of jobs located there grew by about 15% from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 8.2% in 1990 to 3.4% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.2% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.8% | 2024 20.2% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $20,247 | 2024 $53,867 |
Two unemployment rates appear on this page, both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 3.4% is the average for 2025, and the score uses 3.7%, the average of the latest 12 months (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026).
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Russell County's history
1832
Russell County was established by an act of the state general assembly on December 18, 1832, from lands ceded by the Creek Native Americans. Wikipedia
1981
A tornado in April 1981 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in March 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 59,183, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1975
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Russell County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Russell County beside its neighbors
Russell County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Alabama and Georgia. For the share of income from benefit checks, Russell County ranks 4th of the eight; Stewart County is highest, at 38.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell County, AL | 98 | 20.2% | 35.5% |
| Macon County, AL | 97 | 30.8% | 35.7% |
| Bullock County, AL | 96 | 36.7% | 34.0% |
| Barbour County, AL | 95 | 28.1% | 38.3% |
| Muscogee County, GA | 95 | 17.3% | 27.2% |
| Stewart County, GA | 91 | 30.6% | 38.4% |
| Chattahoochee County, GA | 67 | 17.8% | 15.5% |
| Lee County, AL | 61 | 16.9% | 19.7% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Russell County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Russell 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, Russell County ranks 5th of 67 in the state.
Russell County in photographs
Places in Russell County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
This is a photo of the new Russell County Courthouse in Phenix City, Alabama.
Photo: Rivers Langley SaveRivers via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Elmoreland, U.S.
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If you're behind on your mortgage in Russell County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 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 1,012 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 Russell County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Russell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.