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Cliff-Zone Families
142,615
Total Wage Suppression
$103.8M
State Avg Cliff Zone
18.8%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Alabama, an estimated 142,615 families across 67 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 667,755 | 17.8% | 19,199 | $14.0M | 309% |
| Mobile County | 412,590 | 21.4% | 13,099 | $9.5M | 309% |
| Madison County | 405,718 | 13.3% | 8,466 | $6.2M | 309% |
| Montgomery County | 226,718 | 18.6% | 6,371 | $4.6M | 309% |
| Baldwin County | 246,989 | 16.3% | 5,925 | $4.3M | 309% |
| Tuscaloosa County | 237,552 | 17.1% | 5,501 | $4.0M | 309% |
| Lee County | 181,134 | 14.7% | 4,235 | $3.1M | 309% |
| Shelby County | 230,211 | 10.7% | 4,065 | $3.0M | 309% |
| Calhoun County | 116,090 | 22.4% | 3,856 | $2.8M | 309% |
| Morgan County | 124,471 | 17.8% | 3,441 | $2.5M | 309% |
| Cullman County | 90,566 | 21.8% | 3,357 | $2.4M | 309% |
| Houston County | 108,140 | 20.4% | 3,344 | $2.4M | 309% |
| Etowah County | 103,105 | 22.6% | 3,324 | $2.4M | 309% |
| Marshall County | 99,748 | 20.8% | 2,973 | $2.2M | 309% |
| DeKalb County | 72,269 | 25.5% | 2,787 | $2.0M | 309% |
| Lauderdale County | 95,830 | 18.3% | 2,648 | $1.9M | 309% |
| Limestone County | 111,233 | 14.8% | 2,624 | $1.9M | 309% |
| Talladega County | 81,021 | 22.1% | 2,528 | $1.8M | 309% |
| St. Clair County | 94,166 | 16.0% | 2,449 | $1.8M | 309% |
| Elmore County | 89,526 | 16.0% | 2,215 | $1.6M | 309% |
| Russell County | 58,811 | 22.5% | 2,015 | $1.5M | 309% |
| Blount County | 59,518 | 19.5% | 1,970 | $1.4M | 309% |
| Jackson County | 53,053 | 25.1% | 1,923 | $1.4M | 309% |
| Walker County | 64,841 | 19.6% | 1,822 | $1.3M | 309% |
| Autauga County | 59,947 | 17.5% | 1,641 | $1.2M | 309% |
| Dale County | 49,599 | 22.2% | 1,499 | $1.1M | 309% |
| Coffee County | 54,920 | 16.9% | 1,486 | $1.1M | 309% |
| Chilton County | 45,992 | 22.1% | 1,470 | $1.1M | 309% |
| Chambers County | 34,192 | 27.0% | 1,453 | $1.1M | 309% |
| Colbert County | 58,022 | 15.1% | 1,311 | $954K | 309% |
| Covington County | 37,628 | 24.1% | 1,231 | $896K | 309% |
| Tallapoosa County | 40,938 | 21.2% | 1,166 | $849K | 309% |
| Lawrence County | 33,276 | 21.8% | 1,152 | $839K | 309% |
| Franklin County | 31,966 | 24.7% | 1,132 | $824K | 309% |
| Dallas County | 36,858 | 23.1% | 1,076 | $783K | 309% |
| Geneva County | 26,887 | 25.2% | 1,040 | $757K | 309% |
| Pike County | 32,987 | 21.6% | 1,010 | $735K | 309% |
| Escambia County | 36,629 | 25.8% | 1,004 | $731K | 309% |
| Winston County | 23,682 | 24.7% | 964 | $702K | 309% |
| Marion County | 29,184 | 23.3% | 868 | $632K | 309% |
| Cherokee County | 25,443 | 24.7% | 821 | $598K | 309% |
| Barbour County | 24,643 | 26.1% | 815 | $593K | 309% |
| Randolph County | 22,510 | 20.5% | 757 | $551K | 309% |
| Bibb County | 22,130 | 21.4% | 672 | $489K | 309% |
| Macon County | 18,691 | 25.8% | 599 | $436K | 309% |
| Butler County | 18,630 | 21.8% | 567 | $413K | 309% |
| Pickens County | 18,721 | 24.7% | 546 | $397K | 309% |
| Clay County | 14,192 | 23.2% | 533 | $388K | 309% |
| Lamar County | 13,693 | 26.5% | 533 | $388K | 309% |
| Clarke County | 22,543 | 19.1% | 532 | $387K | 309% |
| Cleburne County | 15,426 | 23.5% | 501 | $365K | 309% |
| Fayette County | 16,053 | 18.4% | 477 | $347K | 309% |
| Sumter County | 11,878 | 28.7% | 477 | $347K | 309% |
| Washington County | 15,143 | 18.7% | 472 | $344K | 309% |
| Crenshaw County | 13,122 | 22.4% | 446 | $325K | 309% |
| Marengo County | 18,851 | 21.8% | 431 | $314K | 309% |
| Monroe County | 19,388 | 22.0% | 430 | $313K | 309% |
| Henry County | 17,647 | 19.4% | 415 | $302K | 309% |
| Bullock County | 10,058 | 33.0% | 400 | $291K | 309% |
| Perry County | 8,031 | 31.1% | 387 | $282K | 309% |
| Choctaw County | 12,380 | 25.3% | 385 | $280K | 309% |
| Lowndes County | 9,833 | 24.8% | 380 | $277K | 309% |
| Coosa County | 10,300 | 28.0% | 357 | $260K | 309% |
| Hale County | 14,829 | 18.2% | 297 | $216K | 309% |
| Conecuh County | 11,275 | 24.0% | 287 | $209K | 309% |
| Wilcox County | 10,172 | 22.6% | 265 | $193K | 309% |
| Greene County | 7,424 | 23.4% | 193 | $141K | 309% |
67 of 67 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.