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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Alabama

17 persistent-poverty counties

Alabama has 17 persistent-poverty counties and 36 nonmetro counties — home to 316,770 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 15.6% and child poverty is 21.5%.

17

Persistent-poverty counties

36

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

317K

Residents in PPCs

67

Total counties

Alabama by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Alabama at a glance

Poverty rate

15.6%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

21.5%

Under 18

PPC share

25.4%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

53.7%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

1.84

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.29

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Alabama's 93 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 67 in Alabama.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Wilcox 0.72
  2. 2 Perry 0.69
  3. 3 Clarke 0.68
  4. 4 Choctaw 0.68
  5. 5 Sumter 0.67

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Greene 35.9%
  2. 2 Perry 31.2%
  3. 3 Lowndes 29.6%
  4. 4 Dallas 29.0%
  5. 5 Wilcox 29.0%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Greene 35.9%
  2. 2 Perry 31.2%
  3. 3 Lowndes 29.6%
  4. 4 Dallas 29.0%
  5. 5 Wilcox 29.0%

Every county in Alabama

All 67 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Autauga 2 — — 10.7% 12.9% 59,285 0.08
Baldwin 3 — Retire. 10.5% 14.4% 239,945 0.12
Barbour 6 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 21.9% 35.6% 24,757 0.58
Bibb 1 — Low emp., Low ed. 20.5% 33.8% 22,152 0.08
Blount 1 — — 14.1% 17.5% 59,292 0.06
Bullock 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 25.7% 42.9% 10,157 0.67
Butler 6 — Low ed., Pop. loss 21.0% 31.5% 18,807 0.27
Calhoun 3 — — 17.5% 22.9% 116,141 0.14
Chambers 6 — — 15.5% 21.0% 34,450 0.25
Cherokee 8 — — 14.5% 18.0% 25,224 0.32
Chilton 1 — Low ed. 13.6% 16.3% 45,500 0.05
Choctaw 9 Yes Pop. loss 19.5% 28.2% 12,525 0.68
Clarke 9 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 20.5% 30.3% 22,802 0.68
Clay 9 — — 16.5% 21.5% 14,188 0.37
Cleburne 8 — — 13.2% 20.7% 15,254 0.32
Coffee 4 — — 17.6% 25.1% 54,231 0.18
Colbert 3 — — 16.9% 26.9% 57,648 0.14
Conecuh 9 — Low emp., Pop. loss 27.6% 54.6% 11,411 0.41
Coosa 8 — Low ed., Pop. loss 11.6% 24.1% 10,323 0.31
Covington 6 — — 18.0% 24.4% 37,647 0.26
Crenshaw 8 — Low ed. 16.2% 17.8% 13,144 0.33
Cullman 4 — — 13.9% 18.5% 89,463 0.17
Dale 4 — Low emp. 18.7% 29.6% 49,516 0.19
Dallas 4 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 29.0% 46.2% 37,536 0.53
DeKalb 6 — — 20.4% 30.3% 71,946 0.27
Elmore 2 — — 10.3% 14.8% 88,669 0.08
Escambia 6 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 21.2% 25.7% 36,695 0.57
Etowah 3 — — 17.1% 23.6% 103,208 0.14
Fayette 8 — Pop. loss 18.7% 23.3% 16,173 0.34
Franklin 6 — — 17.4% 26.8% 31,978 0.26
Geneva 3 — — 19.1% 25.3% 26,726 0.15
Greene 2 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 35.9% 56.0% 7,589 0.48
Hale 2 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 23.9% 33.0% 14,749 0.43
Henry 3 — — 15.8% 23.0% 17,450 0.14
Houston 3 — — 18.0% 27.1% 107,628 0.15
Jackson 6 — Pop. loss 16.8% 23.6% 52,839 0.25
Jefferson 1 — Housing 16.3% 22.8% 669,744 0.07
Lamar 8 — Pop. loss 15.1% 15.9% 13,809 0.32
Lauderdale 3 — — 13.6% 18.1% 95,037 0.13
Lawrence 3 — Pop. loss 13.7% 16.8% 33,182 0.13
Lee 3 — Housing, Retire. 18.9% 16.2% 177,663 0.15
Limestone 2 — Retire. 10.1% 13.1% 107,577 0.08
Lowndes 2 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss, Housing 29.6% 50.7% 10,008 0.46
Macon 3 Yes Pop. loss 22.1% 34.2% 18,951 0.46
Madison 2 — — 10.5% 13.1% 397,135 0.08
Marengo 6 Yes Pop. loss 22.6% 30.8% 19,027 0.58
Marion 9 — Pop. loss 16.8% 22.6% 29,190 0.37
Marshall 4 — — 16.3% 23.5% 98,712 0.18
Mobile 2 — Housing 16.3% 23.6% 413,162 0.10
Monroe 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 22.6% 25.9% 19,580 0.65
Montgomery 2 — Housing 19.3% 28.6% 227,197 0.11
Morgan 3 — — 13.6% 17.1% 123,742 0.13
Perry 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 31.2% 60.4% 8,231 0.69
Pickens 2 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 22.6% 36.9% 18,843 0.43
Pike 6 Yes Housing 23.4% 32.8% 32,953 0.58
Randolph 8 — — 18.4% 21.2% 22,310 0.34
Russell 2 — Housing 22.2% 33.0% 58,858 0.13
Shelby 1 — — 6.9% 7.8% 226,955 0.03
St. Clair 1 — — 11.2% 15.1% 92,903 0.04
Sumter 8 Yes Pop. loss 28.1% 45.3% 12,020 0.67
Talladega 4 — — 17.7% 25.8% 81,170 0.18
Tallapoosa 6 — — 15.2% 21.0% 41,070 0.25
Tuscaloosa 2 — Housing, Retire. 16.7% 20.8% 234,036 0.10
Walker 1 — Pop. loss 18.0% 26.8% 64,886 0.07
Washington 8 — Pop. loss 18.4% 27.1% 15,270 0.34
Wilcox 9 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 29.0% 51.1% 10,347 0.72
Winston 8 — Low ed., Pop. loss 19.5% 26.7% 23,637 0.34

Find a food pantry in Alabama

Search Alabama's 93 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Alabama pantry directory

Alabama SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Alabama SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Alabama food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology