About one in four people in Alachua County, Florida, lives below the poverty line
In Alachua County, 22.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Alachua County's score
In Alachua County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 95.0. About one in three renters (34.0%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 99% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 60.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Alachua 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.
Alachua County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (12.1%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (88.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent34.0% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.1% · fiscal year 202790th percentile
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- 60.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202686th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.2% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
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- 54.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.9% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.5% · 202462nd percentile
- People with a disability12.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- People without health insurance7.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,127 · 202454th percentile
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- 51.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.2% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
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- 41.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.6% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people88.5 · 202530th 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 Alachua 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 Alachua 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
Alachua County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Alachua County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 20.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Alachua County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Alachua County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.8% in 2012 to 11.1% in 2013.
The share of households in Alachua County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.5% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Alachua County, Florida.
How Alachua County has changed
Alachua County's population had its largest rise, from 100,980 in 1969 to 131,232 in 1974.
Alachua County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 291,782, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 258,783. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Alachua County, Florida.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Alachua County rose by about half to 140,869, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 140,869. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Alachua County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.0% | 2024 22.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,673 | 2024 $65,127 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% 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 Alachua County's history
1812
Alachua Seminole led by King Payne resisted American invasion; Payne was wounded and died. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A tornado in March 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A tornado in March 1993 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A thunderstorm in July 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 278,468, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Alachua County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Alachua County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Alachua County score higher than it does. Of the group, Alachua County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Putnam County gets the largest, at 39.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam County, FL | 95 | 20.7% | 39.1% |
| Marion County, FL | 89 | 14.3% | 34.3% |
| Levy County, FL | 87 | 17.6% | 32.5% |
| Columbia County, FL | 87 | 16.0% | 32.8% |
| Bradford County, FL | 83 | 18.2% | 30.7% |
| Union County, FL | 78 | 18.2% | 35.2% |
| Gilchrist County, FL | 75 | 14.1% | 30.6% |
| Alachua County, FL | 68 | 22.9% | 20.1% |
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 Alachua County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Alachua County's poverty rate was 22.9% in 2024, 2nd highest of 67 in Florida (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hamilton County, at 25.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Alachua County ranks 47th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Alachua 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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Neighborhood Housing & Development Corporation
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Three Rivers Legal Services
Legal aid
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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 Alachua 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 Alachua County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.