Chapter ED Intelligence · Chapter Report
ARC serving Central West Alabama
Southeast and Caribbean Division · Alabama and Mississippi Region
AL · 12 counties · HQ Tuscaloosa, AL · FEMA Region IV
546,144
People
219,696
Households
51.0%
Households below the ALICE survival threshold
12
Counties · 9,267 sq mi
Nearly 51% of households across this chapter live below the ALICE survival threshold — the working families one disaster away from crisis.
In this report · Economic vulnerability · Who lives here · Home fire mission (FLARE) · mission delivery & the bespoke relationship strategy to follow
Sources: American Red Cross geography + 2023 demographics reference table; United Way ALICE + poverty (latest county year).
Geography & Footprint
The chapter's footprint.
12
Counties
9,267
Square miles
546,144
People
Alabama and Mississippi Region
Southeast and Caribbean Division
| County | People | Sq mi | % of chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscaloosa | 234,316 | 1,351 | 42.9% |
| Cullman | 90,522 | 755 | 16.6% |
| Walker | 64,513 | 805 | 11.8% |
| Marion | 28,986 | 744 | 5.3% |
| Winston | 23,255 | 632 | 4.3% |
| Bibb | 22,252 | 626 | 4.1% |
| Pickens | 18,701 | 890 | 3.4% |
| Fayette | 15,975 | 629 | 2.9% |
| Hale | 14,575 | 657 | 2.7% |
| Lamar | 13,743 | 605 | 2.5% |
| Sumter | 11,912 | 913 | 2.2% |
| Greene | 7,394 | 660 | 1.4% |
HQ: Tuscaloosa, AL · FEMA Region IV. Counties sorted by population.
Who Lives Here
The people of this chapter.
40
Median age
$52,722
Median household income
17.2%
Age 65+
28.8%
Renter households
Age distribution
Race & ethnicity
Hispanic / Latino (any race): 4.7% of residents.
Source: American Red Cross 2023 demographics reference table. Chapter figures aggregate the 12 counties; median age and income are population-weighted.
Economic Vulnerability
Where the need is greatest.
| County | People | Median HH income | ALICE | Poverty | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greene | 7,394 | $28,740 | 34.8% | 36.0% | 70.7% |
| Sumter | 11,912 | $28,555 | 43.0% | 24.6% | 67.6% |
| Hale | 14,575 | $38,144 | 36.0% | 27.3% | 63.2% |
| Bibb | 22,252 | $56,167 | 38.4% | 20.5% | 58.9% |
| Pickens | 18,701 | $46,191 | 35.9% | 21.5% | 57.5% |
| Lamar | 13,743 | $42,186 | 37.6% | 18.0% | 55.6% |
| Marion | 28,986 | $44,410 | 34.2% | 19.4% | 53.6% |
| Fayette | 15,975 | $46,192 | 33.3% | 20.0% | 53.3% |
| Winston | 23,255 | $45,623 | 32.0% | 20.4% | 52.4% |
| Walker | 64,513 | $47,730 | 30.4% | 19.1% | 49.5% |
| Cullman | 90,522 | $56,443 | 29.0% | 19.4% | 48.4% |
| Tuscaloosa | 234,316 | $58,541 | 30.4% | 18.0% | 48.4% |
Combined = households in poverty plus ALICE households (above poverty, below the cost of basics), as a share of all county households. Source: United Way ALICE, latest county year.
Risk & Disaster History
What this chapter is up against.
$239.3M
Expected annual loss, all hazards
Tuscaloosa
Highest-risk county
73.1%
Avg social vulnerability (SVI)
2
FEMA declarations, 5 yr (top county)
| County | NRI risk | Exp. annual loss | SVI %ile | FEMA 5yr | FEMA all |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscaloosa | Relatively Moderate | $83.1M | 65.1% | 1 | 28 |
| Walker | Relatively Moderate | $34.8M | 64.0% | 1 | 25 |
| Cullman | Relatively Moderate | $34.8M | 49.1% | 1 | 32 |
| Marion | Relatively Low | $16.6M | 69.5% | 2 | 26 |
| Winston | Relatively Low | $12.4M | 61.3% | 1 | 25 |
| Sumter | Relatively Low | $9.9M | 92.5% | 2 | 20 |
| Bibb | Very Low | $9.0M | 84.5% | 1 | 20 |
| Pickens | Relatively Low | $8.9M | 89.2% | 1 | 19 |
| Fayette | Very Low | $8.6M | 74.6% | 1 | 21 |
| Hale | Very Low | $7.8M | 88.3% | 2 | 23 |
| Lamar | Very Low | $7.6M | 47.3% | 1 | 26 |
| Greene | Very Low | $5.6M | 91.6% | 2 | 22 |
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index 2025 (risk rating, expected annual loss), CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022 (social-vulnerability percentile), FEMA disaster declarations — via the Red Cross national county database.
Disaster History
A chapter shaped by disaster.
52
Federal disaster declarations
13
Hurricanes
Severe Storm
Most common type
2024
Most recent
By incident type
Most recent declarations
| FY | Disaster | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Hurricane Helene | Hurricane |
| 2023 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes | Severe Storm |
| 2023 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes | Severe Storm |
| 2021 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes | Severe Storm |
| 2021 | Hurricane Zeta | Hurricane |
| 2020 | Hurricane Sally | Hurricane |
| 2020 | Severe Thunderstorms | Severe Storm |
| 2020 | Severe Storms And Flooding | Severe Storm |
| 2020 | Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological |
| 2020 | Covid-19 | Biological |
Source: FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 — county-level, deduplicated to unique disasters.
Home Fire Mission · FLARE 2024
Every home fire is a Red Cross moment.
323
Home fires (2024)
64.7%
Red Cross care rate
93
Fires with no Red Cross notification
5.9
Fires per 10,000 residents
Red Cross cared for 65% of home fires — but 93 (29%) happened with no Red Cross notification: the prevention, smoke-alarm, and response opportunity, county by county.
Source: FLARE Fire Incidents 2024 (American Red Cross, public layer). “With care” = Red Cross provided assistance; “no notification” = the Red Cross was never alerted to the fire.
Home Fire · Respond & Prevent
Red Cross shows up — and prevents.
775
Home-fire calls answered (RC response)
761
Single-family fire responses
2,330
Free smoke alarms installed
12
Multi-family fire responses
Red Cross answered 775 home-fire calls and installed 2,330 free smoke alarms across the chapter — response and prevention, county by county.
Sources: DRO National 800-RedCross Calls by County (RC fire responses); Smoke Alarm Installs FY15–FY24 (American Red Cross).
Red Cross Facilities
The chapter's physical footprint.
2
Red Cross facilities
1
Owned
1
Leased / licensed
0
BioMed sites
By type / function
BioMed facilities
No BioMed fixed sites in this chapter.
Sources: Red Cross real-estate portfolio (reintel.jbf.com) + BioMed facilities (biomed.jbf.com).
Locations, types and functions only — no cost, square footage, or lease terms are disclosed.
Red Cross Philanthropy · Major Donors
Who gives here.
Major-donor giving across the chapter — three fiscal years. Internal planning data.
$94,236
Total giving, 3-year
10
Major donors
$16,782
Current FY · ▼ 74% vs prior FY
$73,236
Top: Tuscaloosa
| County | Major donors | Total giving, 3-year |
|---|---|---|
| Tuscaloosa | 7 | $73,236 |
| Cullman | 3 | $21,000 |
Source: Red Cross major-donor giving by county, three fiscal years.
Internal / executive-director planning use — not donor-facing.
County Deep Dive
Tuscaloosa County
234,316
People
$58,541
Median HH income
48.4%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age34.9
ALICE households28,556
Poverty households16,878
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$83.1M
Social vulnerability (SVI)65.1%
FEMA declarations (all time)28
Home fires, CY202493
Fires, no RC notification37
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$73,236
Tuscaloosa County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Cullman County
90,522
People
$56,443
Median HH income
48.4%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age42.6
ALICE households10,436
Poverty households6,971
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$34.8M
Social vulnerability (SVI)49.1%
FEMA declarations (all time)32
Home fires, CY202452
Fires, no RC notification10
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$21,000
Cullman County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Walker County
64,513
People
$47,730
Median HH income
49.5%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age44.4
ALICE households7,549
Poverty households4,736
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$34.8M
Social vulnerability (SVI)64.0%
FEMA declarations (all time)25
Home fires, CY202488
Fires, no RC notification39
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Walker County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Marion County
28,986
People
$44,410
Median HH income
53.6%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age44.9
ALICE households3,714
Poverty households2,110
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$16.6M
Social vulnerability (SVI)69.5%
FEMA declarations (all time)26
Home fires, CY20249
Fires, no RC notification3
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Marion County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Winston County
23,255
People
$45,623
Median HH income
52.4%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age46.2
ALICE households2,987
Poverty households1,899
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$12.4M
Social vulnerability (SVI)61.3%
FEMA declarations (all time)25
Home fires, CY202413
Fires, no RC notification1
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Winston County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Bibb County
22,252
People
$56,167
Median HH income
58.9%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age40
ALICE households2,908
Poverty households1,552
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$9.0M
Social vulnerability (SVI)84.5%
FEMA declarations (all time)20
Home fires, CY202412
Fires, no RC notification1
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Bibb County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Pickens County
18,701
People
$46,191
Median HH income
57.5%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age42.1
ALICE households2,496
Poverty households1,496
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$8.9M
Social vulnerability (SVI)89.2%
FEMA declarations (all time)19
Home fires, CY20249
Fires, no RC notification1
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Pickens County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Fayette County
15,975
People
$46,192
Median HH income
53.3%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age44.9
ALICE households2,015
Poverty households1,212
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$8.6M
Social vulnerability (SVI)74.6%
FEMA declarations (all time)21
Home fires, CY20242
Fires, no RC notification0
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Fayette County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Hale County
14,575
People
$38,144
Median HH income
63.2%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age42.6
ALICE households1,992
Poverty households1,510
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$7.8M
Social vulnerability (SVI)88.3%
FEMA declarations (all time)23
Home fires, CY202414
Fires, no RC notification1
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Hale County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Lamar County
13,743
People
$42,186
Median HH income
55.6%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age46
ALICE households1,875
Poverty households896
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$7.6M
Social vulnerability (SVI)47.3%
FEMA declarations (all time)26
Home fires, CY202412
Fires, no RC notification0
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Lamar County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Sumter County
11,912
People
$28,555
Median HH income
67.6%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age37.5
ALICE households2,048
Poverty households1,172
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$9.9M
Social vulnerability (SVI)92.5%
FEMA declarations (all time)20
Home fires, CY20249
Fires, no RC notification0
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Sumter County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Greene County
7,394
People
$28,740
Median HH income
70.7%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age43.4
ALICE households1,056
Poverty households1,092
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$5.6M
Social vulnerability (SVI)91.6%
FEMA declarations (all time)22
Home fires, CY202410
Fires, no RC notification0
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Greene County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
Your Live Tools
The chapter's Experience Builder apps & federal tools.
Red Cross Intelligence Briefing
Chapter risk, hardship, hazards & county drilldowns
experience.arcgis.com
Disaster Response Intelligence
Spatial disaster-response intelligence
Experience Builder app
Red Cross Real Estate
Facilities & market intelligence
experience.arcgis.com
Service Area Planning
Service-area geography & planning
Experience Builder app
Community Mobilization V
Local resource & mobilization map
experience.arcgis.com
Biomed
Blood & BioMed footprint
experience.arcgis.com
FEMA RAPT
Resilience analysis & planning
www.fema.gov
Census Community Resilience
People & resilience context
www.census.gov
Red Cross Experience Builder apps give the live, drill-down companion to this report; federal tools add official context.
Sources & Methodology
Every number, traceable.
Tools produce facts; humans own decisions. Each figure in this report traces to a named source and vintage.
| Metric | Source | Vintage |
|---|---|---|
| geography + 2023 demographics | ALICE master / Red Cross reference table | 2023 |
| ALICE + poverty households | MASTER counties ALICE+demographics | 2023 |
| flare | flare_fire_incidents (public AGOL, CY24) | CY2024 |
| smoke_alarms | GIS_MAP_FY15_to_FY24 (AGOL item b09f21d9…) | FY15–24 |
| lives_saved | Lives_Saved_Map_30_Apr_2026 (AGOL item ff313330…) | 2026 |
| risk + disaster history | FEMA NRI 2025 · CDC SVI 2022 · FEMA declarations (red-cross-data county master) | FEMA NRI 2025 · SVI 2022 |
| fema disaster history | FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 | 2026 |
| facilities / real estate (no costs) | Red Cross facilities portfolio — reintel.jbf.com (locations, types & ownership only; no cost/lease terms) | FY25 |
| home-fire RC responses (SFF/MFF) | DRO National 800-RedCross Calls by County (org AGOL) | FY24–26 |
Geography: American Red Cross chapter↔county reference. The full machine-readable source ledger ships with the data bundle.
Appendix · County Data
Full county table.
| County | Pop | Households | Hardship | NRI risk | Exp. annual loss | Fires '24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscaloosa | 234,316 | 93,640 | 48.4% | Relatively Moderate | $83.1M | 93 |
| Cullman | 90,522 | 35,929 | 48.4% | Relatively Moderate | $34.8M | 52 |
| Walker | 64,513 | 26,249 | 49.5% | Relatively Moderate | $34.8M | 88 |
| Marion | 28,986 | 12,135 | 53.6% | Relatively Low | $16.6M | 9 |
| Winston | 23,255 | 9,807 | 52.4% | Relatively Low | $12.4M | 13 |
| Bibb | 22,252 | 7,974 | 58.9% | Very Low | $9.0M | 12 |
| Pickens | 18,701 | 7,267 | 57.5% | Relatively Low | $8.9M | 9 |
| Fayette | 15,975 | 6,525 | 53.3% | Very Low | $8.6M | 2 |
| Hale | 14,575 | 6,101 | 63.2% | Very Low | $7.8M | 14 |
| Lamar | 13,743 | 5,894 | 55.6% | Very Low | $7.6M | 12 |
| Sumter | 11,912 | 4,895 | 67.6% | Relatively Low | $9.9M | 9 |
| Greene | 7,394 | 3,280 | 70.7% | Very Low | $5.6M | 10 |
One row per county. Combined hardship = poverty + ALICE households. Fires = FLARE CY2024.