Shelby County Listed As Alabama's Wealthiest

SHELBY COUNTY, AL - Alabama as a whole is listed among one of the country's poorest states, with a median annual household income of $46,472 - more than $11,000 below the U.S. median. As well, Alabama has one of the highest poverty rates of all states at 18 percent. However, Shelby County enjoys a much brighter financial outlook.

A recent report by 24/7 Wall Street shows that Shelby County households earn, on average, more than $74,000 a year, and just 8.3 percent of residents live in poverty. The report indicates that a driving factor in the county's affluence is its unemployment rate of 2.8 percent, which is well below the state’s 4.1 percent unemployment rate.

Shelby County has also seen a high rate of population growth. In the past five years, the county’s population grew by 6.9 percent, more than four times the rate of Alabama’s population growth as a whole.

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Recently, Money Magazine listed Pelham as the best place to live in Alabama. The Shelby County city received the honor for a variety of reasons, but namely because it is home to Oak Mountain State Park, and because its high school graduation rate is at 95 percent. As well, Money mentioned that Pelham is home to more than 5,500 businesses, nearly double that of any other town in the county.

Image via Shelby County