Poorest Cities In Alabama For 2022


We used science and data to determine which places in Alabama are basically dead broke.

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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the poorest places in Alabama.

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.

Here are the ten poorest places in Alabama for 2022:

  1. Atmore
  2. Selma
  3. Tuskegee
  4. Talladega
  5. Prichard
  6. Bessemer
  7. Monroeville
  8. Tarrant
  9. Gadsden
  10. Sylacauga

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.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 9,269
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $25,211 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 13.2% (3rd highest)
Poverty Rate: 38.1% (highest)
More on Atmore:  Data | Photos

Atmore, AL

Source: Public domain

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 17,762
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $26,581 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 13.7% (2nd highest)
Poverty Rate: 36.2% (2nd highest)
More on Selma:  Data | Photos

Selma, AL

Source: Public domain

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.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 8,443
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 3)
Median Income: $28,629 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.8% (7th highest)
Poverty Rate: 28.4% (7th highest)
More on Tuskegee:  Data | Photos

Tuskegee, AL

Source: Public domain

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,405
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $30,088 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.1% (6th highest)
Poverty Rate: 27.0% (8th highest)
More on Talladega:  Data | Photos

Talladega, AL

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.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 21,618
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Income: $30,464 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.8% (8th highest)
Poverty Rate: 30.8% (5th highest)
More on Prichard:  Data | Photos

Prichard, AL

Source: Public domain

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 26,063
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Median Income: $30,284 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 13.8% (highest)
Poverty Rate: 25.9% (15th highest)
More on Bessemer:  Data | Photos

Bessemer, AL

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,812
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $29,543 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 12.7% (4th highest)
Poverty Rate: 22.3% (27th highest)
More on Monroeville:  Data | Photos

Monroeville, AL

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,216
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Median Income: $34,032 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (25th highest)
Poverty Rate: 29.1% (6th highest)
More on Tarrant:  Data | Photos

Tarrant, AL

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 35,224
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Income: $34,062 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.9% (24th highest)
Poverty Rate: 26.7% (9th highest)
More on Gadsden:  Data | Photos

Gadsden, AL

Source: Public domain

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,132
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 7)
Median Income: $37,093 (18th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.9% (15th highest)
Poverty Rate: 26.1% (13th highest)
More on Sylacauga:  Data | Photos

Sylacauga, AL

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:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Alabama

Rank City Population Poverty Rate
1 Atmore 9,269 38.1%
2 Selma 17,762 36.2%
3 Tuskegee 8,443 28.4%
4 Talladega 15,405 27.0%
5 Prichard 21,618 30.8%
6 Bessemer 26,063 25.9%
7 Monroeville 5,812 22.3%
8 Tarrant 6,216 29.1%
9 Gadsden 35,224 26.7%
10 Sylacauga 12,132 26.1%
11 Daleville 5,125 22.1%
12 Eufaula 11,878 31.9%
13 Jacksonville 12,796 26.1%
14 Opp 6,405 21.3%
15 Birmingham 210,928 24.7%
16 Fairfield 10,749 23.7%
17 Greenville 7,478 23.3%
18 Fort Payne 14,063 24.6%
19 Ozark 14,350 19.6%
20 Anniston 21,518 21.3%
21 Bay Minette 9,297 16.2%
22 Andalusia 8,719 19.7%
23 Demopolis 6,724 26.0%
24 Phenix City 36,461 24.7%
25 Chickasaw 5,757 34.6%
26 Sheffield 8,925 23.3%
27 Brewton 5,210 20.3%
28 Troy 18,995 26.4%
29 Tuscaloosa 100,633 23.2%
30 Montevallo 6,829 17.0%
31 Florence 40,652 19.6%
32 Lanett 6,220 22.6%
33 Clanton 8,719 17.4%
34 Center Point 15,971 18.6%
35 Mobile 189,994 20.1%
36 Roanoke 5,931 19.4%
37 Alexander City 14,515 19.7%
38 Tuscumbia 8,445 22.1%
39 Montgomery 199,054 20.1%
40 Hamilton 6,662 19.2%
41 Rainsville 5,038 22.9%
42 Dothan 68,608 18.0%
43 Rainbow City 9,601 12.1%
44 Auburn 65,508 26.3%
45 Smiths Station 5,821 13.6%
46 Hueytown 15,446 9.9%
47 Guntersville 8,531 19.5%
48 Oneonta 6,550 16.1%
49 Decatur 54,344 15.5%
50 Irondale 13,068 10.8%
51 Russellville 9,803 16.9%
52 Jasper 13,584 15.6%
53 Boaz 9,587 22.6%
54 Wetumpka 8,282 11.0%
55 Enterprise 28,170 16.8%
56 Scottsboro 14,452 18.4%
57 Athens 26,686 13.1%
58 Arab 8,405 16.0%
59 Foley 19,337 11.4%
60 Albertville 21,620 23.3%
61 Lincoln 6,805 11.7%
62 Attalla 5,885 9.6%
63 Pell City 14,081 11.5%
64 Northport 25,970 16.0%
65 Huntsville 199,845 15.2%
66 Opelika 30,589 15.2%
67 Cullman 16,072 11.1%
68 Robertsdale 6,776 15.7%
69 Saraland 14,561 7.2%
70 Semmes 5,780 9.8%
71 Hartselle 14,421 12.5%
72 Moody 13,004 9.3%
73 Satsuma 6,163 9.1%
74 Gulf Shores 12,550 9.0%
75 Valley 9,195 8.8%
76 Pinson 7,108 13.0%
77 Prattville 36,599 14.1%
78 Millbrook 16,037 9.6%
79 Fultondale 9,247 13.4%
80 Daphne 26,578 8.6%
81 Pleasant Grove 9,625 4.0%
82 Fairhope 22,035 6.3%
83 Oxford 21,282 9.2%
84 Alabaster 33,373 6.2%
85 Southside 8,801 5.7%
86 Clay 9,936 10.6%
87 Glencoe 5,125 5.1%
88 Muscle Shoals 14,379 5.1%
89 Hoover 85,386 5.7%
90 Chelsea 13,599 3.5%
91 Orange Beach 6,130 6.2%
92 Gardendale 14,021 9.2%
93 Leeds 12,555 8.6%
94 Homewood 25,170 8.0%
95 Pelham 23,707 5.4%
96 Calera 14,327 6.3%
97 Madison 50,717 5.6%
98 Trussville 22,590 4.0%
99 Pike Road 9,745 4.8%
100 Helena 18,631 4.8%

How Is The Area In ?

About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.