In Wilcox County, Alabama, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2014
In 2024, 46 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wilcox County's score
In Wilcox County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About two in five people with a credit file (43.8%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wilcox 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.
Wilcox County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector43.8% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people372.1 · 2025top 5%
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- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.0% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score68.3% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 93.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202691st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working41.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 88.6 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 rent23.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income30.1% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 85.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line34.0% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line52.5% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability21.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance8.7% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$36,703 · 2024top 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 Wilcox 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 Wilcox County, 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wilcox County
Alabama
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wilcox County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Alabama
In Wilcox County, Alabama, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wilcox County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 31.2% in 2021 to 35.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Wilcox County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2018, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 24.5% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wilcox County, Alabama.
How Wilcox County has changed
Wilcox County's population fell by about half to 9,865, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 14,511. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wilcox County, Alabama.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wilcox County fell by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,696, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 4,012 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wilcox County, Alabama.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.5% | 2025 5.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 45.5% | 2024 34.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,401 | 2024 $36,703 |
The table uses 5.6% for 2025; the score uses 5.8% 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 Wilcox County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 35,631. The 2020 Census counted 10,600, 30% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A tornado in March 2007 did $2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wilcox County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wilcox County beside its neighbors
Wilcox County scores higher than all six counties that border it. Of the group, Wilcox County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (45.5%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, AL | 99 | 29.6% | 39.8% |
| Wilcox County, AL | 99 | 34.0% | 45.5% |
| Lowndes County, AL | 97 | 25.0% | 32.3% |
| Monroe County, AL | 95 | 21.2% | 37.4% |
| Butler County, AL | 94 | 20.3% | 32.2% |
| Marengo County, AL | 92 | 21.6% | 34.2% |
| Clarke County, AL | 91 | 17.8% | 35.7% |
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 Wilcox County the poorest county in Alabama?
No, Wilcox County's poverty rate was 34.0% in 2024, 2nd 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, Wilcox County ranks 2nd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wilcox 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 Wilcox 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 Wilcox County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.