About one in three people in Sumter County, Alabama, lives below the poverty line
In Sumter County, 32.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sumter County's score
In Sumter County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 332.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 92.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sumter 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.
Sumter County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.0% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people332.6 · 202593rd percentile
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- 92.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.3% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.6% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score64.5% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 85.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line32.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line41.2% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability21.3% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- People without health insurance8.6% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$36,855 · 2024top 5%
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- 79.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working36.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 64.2 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 rent15.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income30.0% · 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 Sumter 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 Sumter County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sumter County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sumter County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 39.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Sumter County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sumter County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 31.0% in 2009 to 25.0% in 2010.
The share of households in Sumter County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 30.5%, with its low point on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 25.0% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sumter County, Alabama.
How Sumter County has changed
Sumter County's population fell by about a third to 11,607, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 16,540. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sumter County, Alabama.
The number of jobs located in Sumter County fell most sharply after its 1995 high, from 4,964 in 1995 to 4,115 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Sumter County fell 40% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 4,964 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sumter County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.8% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 37.5% | 2024 32.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,425 | 2024 $36,855 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Sumter County's history
1830
1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek: Choctaw Nation ceded land that became Sumter County; federal government removed most Choctaw to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Wikipedia
1832
Established December 18, 1832. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 32,710. The 2020 Census counted 12,345, 38% of the peak. Census Bureau
2003
A flash flood in April 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
Heavy rain in March 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $6.88 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $3.91 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sumter County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sumter County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Sumter County, in Alabama and Mississippi, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sumter County ranks 3rd of the eight; Kemper County is highest, at 44.7%.
| 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% |
| Kemper County, MS | 94 | 25.4% | 44.7% |
| Choctaw County, AL | 93 | 21.9% | 39.2% |
| Marengo County, AL | 92 | 21.6% | 34.2% |
| Pickens County, AL | 92 | 22.0% | 36.2% |
| Lauderdale County, MS | 91 | 20.0% | 29.7% |
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 Sumter County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Sumter County's poverty rate was 32.6% in 2024, 4th 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, Sumter County ranks 9th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sumter 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 Sumter 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 Sumter County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.