About three in ten people with a credit file in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Tuscaloosa County, 31.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tuscaloosa County's score
In Tuscaloosa County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 87.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 463.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 85.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tuscaloosa 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.
Tuscaloosa County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (13.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.1% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people463.4 · 202597th percentile
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- 85.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit 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 behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.9% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 71.2 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 rent26.7% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 47.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.8% · 202453rd percentile
- People with a disability13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,379 · 202448th percentile
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- 30.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.3% · 2020 to 202441st 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 Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa County, 13.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tuscaloosa County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tuscaloosa County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tuscaloosa County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 7.4% in 2010 to 9.8% in 2012, 1.2 points each year.
The share of households in Tuscaloosa County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half from 2009 to 2023, reaching 11.4%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 11.6% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
How Tuscaloosa County has changed
Tuscaloosa County's population had its largest rise, from 171,960 in 2004 to 192,792 in 2009.
Tuscaloosa County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 241,212, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 138,930. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Tuscaloosa County rose by more than half to 98,620, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 91,535. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.7% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,778 | 2024 $67,379 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Tuscaloosa County's history
1818
Tuscaloosa County was established on February 6, 1818. Wikipedia
1975
A tornado in February 1975 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in December 2000 did $12.5 million in property damage and killed 11 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $1.5 billion in property damage and killed 44 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 227,036, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A flash flood in March 2022 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tuscaloosa County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tuscaloosa County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Tuscaloosa County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tuscaloosa County ranks 7th of the eight; Greene County is highest, at 44.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, AL | 99 | 33.7% | 44.3% |
| Hale County, AL | 96 | 21.0% | 35.7% |
| Bibb County, AL | 93 | 21.6% | 31.8% |
| Pickens County, AL | 92 | 22.0% | 36.2% |
| Jefferson County, AL | 82 | 14.2% | 17.6% |
| Fayette County, AL | 79 | 17.5% | 36.4% |
| Walker County, AL | 75 | 18.1% | 29.9% |
| 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 Tuscaloosa County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Tuscaloosa County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 45th 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, Tuscaloosa County ranks 41st of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tuscaloosa 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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Community Service Programs of West Alabama, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.