Alabama County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 67 counties in Alabama, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 64.7. 33counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Alabama Snapshot
67 Counties Scored
64.7 Mean Score
63.6 Median Score
86.5 Russell County Most Distressed
44.2 Limestone County Least Distressed
3 Crisis 30 Serious 32 Elevated 2 Normal
Zone Distribution Alabama County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 67 Alabama counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Alabama's 67 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Alabama Counties
67 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Russell County | 86.5 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 2 | 22 | Dallas County | 84.6 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 3 | 38 | Bullock County | 82.5 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 4 | 95 | Pike County | 78.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 5 | 136 | Sumter County | 76.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 6 | 149 | Montgomery County | 76.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 7 | 150 | Mobile County | 76.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 8 | 166 | Macon County | 75.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 9 | 185 | Bibb County | 75.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 10 | 201 | Wilcox County | 74.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 11 | 209 | Calhoun County | 74.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 12 | 249 | Etowah County | 73.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 13 | 270 | Butler County | 72.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 14 | 271 | Greene County | 72.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 15 | 306 | Jefferson County | 72.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 16 | 308 | Hale County | 72.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 17 | 310 | Barbour County | 72.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 18 | 313 | Tuscaloosa County | 72.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 316 | Marengo County | 72.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 20 | 355 | Lowndes County | 70.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 21 | 361 | Perry County | 70.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 22 | 400 | Conecuh County | 69.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 23 | 411 | Pickens County | 69.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 24 | 412 | Escambia County | 69.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 25 | 425 | Geneva County | 69.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 26 | 462 | Chambers County | 68.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 27 | 490 | Talladega County | 68.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 28 | 537 | Covington County | 67.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 29 | 583 | Crenshaw County | 66.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 30 | 593 | Choctaw County | 66.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 31 | 596 | Randolph County | 66.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 32 | 625 | Monroe County | 65.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 33 | 627 | Houston County | 65.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 34 | 732 | Marion County | 63.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 35 | 749 | Lee County | 63.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 36 | 759 | Clarke County | 63.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 37 | 760 | Colbert County | 63.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 38 | 792 | Walker County | 62.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 39 | 808 | Dale County | 62.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 40 | 831 | Fayette County | 61.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 41 | 864 | Chilton County | 61.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 42 | 917 | Lamar County | 60.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 43 | 1,002 | Coosa County | 59.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 44 | 1,015 | Franklin County | 59.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 45 | 1,022 | Clay County | 58.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 46 | 1,053 | Morgan County | 58.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 47 | 1,062 | Blount County | 58.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 48 | 1,083 | Henry County | 57.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 49 | 1,105 | DeKalb County | 57.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 50 | 1,110 | Marshall County | 57.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 51 | 1,167 | Cherokee County | 56.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 52 | 1,168 | Lauderdale County | 56.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 53 | 1,172 | Washington County | 56.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 54 | 1,185 | Coffee County | 56.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 55 | 1,203 | Cullman County | 56.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 56 | 1,219 | Elmore County | 55.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 57 | 1,223 | Winston County | 55.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 58 | 1,262 | Jackson County | 55.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 59 | 1,280 | Lawrence County | 54.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 1,295 | Cleburne County | 54.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 61 | 1,411 | Baldwin County | 52.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 62 | 1,420 | Tallapoosa County | 52.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 63 | 1,428 | Autauga County | 52.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 64 | 1,432 | Madison County | 52.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 65 | 1,439 | St. Clair County | 52.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 66 | 1,807 | Shelby County | 46.6 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 67 | 1,941 | Limestone County | 44.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties