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Alabama brings to mind images of Montgomery, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you'll find in the good ole US of A.
However, like all states, Alabama has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in Alabama that could use a helping hand.
To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 103 places in Alabama with more than 5,000 people.
Again, this isn't a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it's just a look at the facts.
What's the poorst city in Alabama? According to the facts, Atmore is the poorest place in Alabama for 2022.
Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places in Alabama or the most dangerous.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
If you're looking for something more national, check out the poorest states in America or the poorest cities in America.
For more Alabama reading, check out:
The 10 Poorest Cities In Alabama For 2022
1. Atmore
Atmore, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Alabama thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 9,269 people averages the lowest median household income in Alabama and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
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2. Selma
The second poorest city in Alabama is Selma.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 2nd highest in the Heart of Dixie.
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3. Tuskegee
Placing as the third poorest city, Tuskegee's median income ranks as the 3rd lowest.
And that's a sign that there's a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 28.42607313195549% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Heart of Dixie.
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4. Talladega
Talladega ranks as the fourth poorest place in Alabama.
The town ranks as having the 5th lowest median household income and the 8th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there's still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
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5. Prichard
The fifth poorest city in Alabama is Prichard.
The city ranks as having the 7th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 5th highest in Alabama.
Still not the best news for Prichard.
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6. Bessemer
Bessemer ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Heart of Dixie.
It ranks as having the 15th highest incidence of poverty and the highest unemployment rate.
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7. Monroeville
Monroeville places as the seventh poorest city in Alabama.
The city of over 5,812 ranks as having the 27th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
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8. Tarrant
Tarrant ranks as the eighth poorest city in Alabama.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 25th highest in the state.
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9. Gadsden
Gadsden couldn't stay out of the top ten poorest places in Alabama; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 11th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Gadsden ranks as having the 9th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Alabama.
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10. Sylacauga
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Alabama is Sylacauga.
The city of 12,132 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Heart of Dixie.
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Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Alabama for 2022
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don't think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "poorest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2016-2020 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
- Unemployment Rate
The "median household income adjusted for the cost of living" attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they'd still feel poor.
The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.
After we collected the data for all 103 places with more than 5,000 people in Alabama, we ranked each place from 1 to 103 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Poor Score" with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Atmore, crowned the "Poorest Place In Alabama For 2022". You can download the data here.
Summary: The Poorest Places In Alabama For 2022
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Alabama, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Alabama.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the richest cities in Alabama, according to data:
-
Richest: Mountain Brook
2nd Richest: Vestavia Hills
3rd Richest: Spanish Fort
For more Alabama reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Alabama
- Safest Places In Alabama
- Worst Places To Live In Alabama
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Alabama
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Alabama
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atmore | 9,269 |
| 2 | Selma | 17,762 |
| 3 | Tuskegee | 8,443 |
| 4 | Talladega | 15,405 |
| 5 | Prichard | 21,618 |
| 6 | Bessemer | 26,063 |
| 7 | Monroeville | 5,812 |
| 8 | Tarrant | 6,216 |
| 9 | Gadsden | 35,224 |
| 10 | Sylacauga | 12,132 |
| 11 | Daleville | 5,125 |
| 12 | Eufaula | 11,878 |
| 13 | Jacksonville | 12,796 |
| 14 | Opp | 6,405 |
| 15 | Birmingham | 210,928 |
| 16 | Fairfield | 10,749 |
| 17 | Greenville | 7,478 |
| 18 | Fort Payne | 14,063 |
| 19 | Ozark | 14,350 |
| 20 | Anniston | 21,518 |
| 21 | Bay Minette | 9,297 |
| 22 | Andalusia | 8,719 |
| 23 | Demopolis | 6,724 |
| 24 | Phenix City | 36,461 |
| 25 | Chickasaw | 5,757 |
| 26 | Sheffield | 8,925 |
| 27 | Brewton | 5,210 |
| 28 | Troy | 18,995 |
| 29 | Tuscaloosa | 100,633 |
| 30 | Montevallo | 6,829 |
| 31 | Florence | 40,652 |
| 32 | Lanett | 6,220 |
| 33 | Clanton | 8,719 |
| 34 | Center Point | 15,971 |
| 35 | Mobile | 189,994 |
| 36 | Roanoke | 5,931 |
| 37 | Alexander City | 14,515 |
| 38 | Tuscumbia | 8,445 |
| 39 | Montgomery | 199,054 |
| 40 | Hamilton | 6,662 |
| 41 | Rainsville | 5,038 |
| 42 | Dothan | 68,608 |
| 43 | Rainbow City | 9,601 |
| 44 | Auburn | 65,508 |
| 45 | Smiths Station | 5,821 |
| 46 | Hueytown | 15,446 |
| 47 | Guntersville | 8,531 |
| 48 | Oneonta | 6,550 |
| 49 | Decatur | 54,344 |
| 50 | Irondale | 13,068 |
| 51 | Russellville | 9,803 |
| 52 | Jasper | 13,584 |
| 53 | Boaz | 9,587 |
| 54 | Wetumpka | 8,282 |
| 55 | Enterprise | 28,170 |
| 56 | Scottsboro | 14,452 |
| 57 | Athens | 26,686 |
| 58 | Arab | 8,405 |
| 59 | Foley | 19,337 |
| 60 | Albertville | 21,620 |
| 61 | Lincoln | 6,805 |
| 62 | Attalla | 5,885 |
| 63 | Pell City | 14,081 |
| 64 | Northport | 25,970 |
| 65 | Huntsville | 199,845 |
| 66 | Opelika | 30,589 |
| 67 | Cullman | 16,072 |
| 68 | Robertsdale | 6,776 |
| 69 | Saraland | 14,561 |
| 70 | Semmes | 5,780 |
| 71 | Hartselle | 14,421 |
| 72 | Moody | 13,004 |
| 73 | Satsuma | 6,163 |
| 74 | Gulf Shores | 12,550 |
| 75 | Valley | 9,195 |
| 76 | Pinson | 7,108 |
| 77 | Prattville | 36,599 |
| 78 | Millbrook | 16,037 |
| 79 | Fultondale | 9,247 |
| 80 | Daphne | 26,578 |
| 81 | Pleasant Grove | 9,625 |
| 82 | Fairhope | 22,035 |
| 83 | Oxford | 21,282 |
| 84 | Alabaster | 33,373 |
| 85 | Southside | 8,801 |
| 86 | Clay | 9,936 |
| 87 | Glencoe | 5,125 |
| 88 | Muscle Shoals | 14,379 |
| 89 | Hoover | 85,386 |
| 90 | Chelsea | 13,599 |
| 91 | Orange Beach | 6,130 |
| 92 | Gardendale | 14,021 |
| 93 | Leeds | 12,555 |
| 94 | Homewood | 25,170 |
| 95 | Pelham | 23,707 |
| 96 | Calera | 14,327 |
| 97 | Madison | 50,717 |
| 98 | Trussville | 22,590 |
| 99 | Pike Road | 9,745 |
| 100 | Helena | 18,631 |
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