Shelby County, Alabama

County Distress Index: Healthy · 30.2 | 233,000 people · 67th most distressed in Alabama

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Shelby County, AL ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 30.2 — 2879th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where debt and delinquency levels sit above the national average. Within Alabama, it ranks 67th of 67 counties. It scores lower than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Shelby County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 52.2 — above the national median.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 52.2
Debt in Collections 38
Medical Debt 54
Student Loan Delinquency 27
Auto Loan Delinquency 60
Credit Card Delinquency 46
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 89
Housing Cost Burden 47.1
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 78
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 78
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 56
Homeownership Rate 13
Rent-to-Income Ratio 10
Community Vulnerability 25.7
Uninsured Rate 37
Disability Rate 14
Employment & Wages 19.5
Unemployment Rate 1
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 29
Business Formation Rate 30
Income & Poverty 6.5
Poverty Rate 9
Income vs. State Median 1
Child Poverty Rate 9

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Shelby County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Shelby County
Shelby County, AL 30.2 Healthy
Bibb County, AL 66.0 Serious +35.8
Talladega County, AL 55.9 Elevated +25.7
Chilton County, AL 54.8 Elevated +24.6
Jefferson County, AL 54.5 Elevated +24.4
Coosa County, AL 52.4 Elevated +22.2
St. Clair County, AL 41.1 Normal +10.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Shelby County
Roanoke County, VA 30.3 Healthy +0.1
Carroll County, MD 30.0 Healthy -0.2
Putnam County, NY 29.9 Healthy -0.2
Box Elder County, UT 29.8 Healthy -0.4
Chittenden County, VT 30.5 Healthy +0.4

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