alabama poverty

GULF SHORES Ala.
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media
March 31, 2025

In a thriving, rapidly growing community where million-dollar homes and multi-million-dollar highrise condominiums have replaced the small cottages that once dotted the Alabama Gulf Coast, it’s hard to imagine that anyone here is disadvantaged, struggling to financially survive or even going without food or shelter.

The blue-green waters, swaying palm trees, white sandy beaches, and signs of prosperity, hides a seldom seen or thought of reality.
And that reality is that most people living among the posh homes and manicured lawns are not wealthy. In fact the majority are just everyday people struggling to keep the lights on, food on the table, and shoes on their kid’s feet.
Many of the residents of Baldwin County who have grown up here, have mostly been employed in agriculture, the service industry such as fast food and retail positions, or other minimum wage positions.
And while some manufacturers have opened up in the area and giving workers a path to higher wages, most only pay employees between $22-$25 per hour. That might sound like a good wage, but the cost of living in parts of Alabama is rising, while wages are not.
Even those who have college degrees aren’t doing much better and are struggling to maintain a comfortable living.

A one-bedroom apartment in Baldwin County averages just under $1300 per month and the closer that you get to the beach communities, the higher those rents go.
Even gas along State Highway 59 from Foley to Gulf Shores costs more than it does in other parts of the county.
In highly sought after beach resort communities, the cost of visiting or living in the area continues to increase annually while the wages for those providing the services to the visitors remain flat.

In 2023, Alabama’s median household income rose to $62,027. This figure is deceiving because the calculations are dependent on wages for a household where two adults are working full-time.
But many households include people whose income is only social security, a retirement pension, disability payments, or part-time employment.

In 2024, the median household income in Baldwin County, Alabama was estimated to be $72,915 with top earners being well over $100,000.

Life in some areas of Baldwin and Mobile Counties are worlds away from those in our beach communities or cities on the Eastern Shore or in the outer areas of Baldwin Counties where subdivisions and estate homes now outnumber farms, or plots of land once handed down from generation to generation.

For 20 years, the percentage of Alabama children living in poverty has remained at about 20%. In 2022, 22% of the about 240,000 Alabama children lived in poverty, according to the 2024 Alabama Kids Count Data Book.

Recently, a forum was held to speak about the homeless population in Baldwin County and the “working poor” among us.
The presentation brought forward that Baldwin County has a homelessness problem that many are not aware of.
That was the message delivered to more than 100 city and county officials, law enforcement, and others by the Baldwin Community Council on Homelessness.
Right now, there is an estimated 700 people in the county who are homeless, but the actual figures could be as high as 1000. The Council called it the “invisible problem” impacting the working class.

The” working poor” among us struggle day to day and month to month to keep a roof over their heads but it’s getting tougher every year.

We all love to walk along our beautiful beaches, enjoying what Alabama’s coast has to offer us, but for many, it’s become no vacation, but rather a daily struggle.

Child poverty, a global issue, means children lack the basic necessities like food, shelter, education, and healthcare, leading to long-term negative impacts on their development and future opportunities.

Children here are also suffering. Some do go without meals and live in sub-par living conditions.
And some even live in their parents’ car, or a tent off the beaten path, and for them, happiness and joy are something that they seldom experience.

Copyright 2025 Blue RAM Media. All rights reserved.