Signature · 10 LILA tracts (37% of tracts)
Lee County, AL
Lee County's signature pressure is desert tracts: 10 LILA tracts (37% of the book) alongside 33.6% low-access.
- 33.6%
- low-access pop.
- 10
- food-desert tracts
- 10.0%
- on SNAP
- 181K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Lee County, AL
LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · DENSITY-DENSE
- LA-ELEVATED 33.6% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +11.5 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 10 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-LIGHT 10.0% SNAP
- VEH-OK 4.8% no vehicle
- DENSITY-DENSE 37% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Autauga County (+ 0.3 pts)
Upper-band low-access
Lee County sits in the upper national band (33.6%, #700 of 3,079) with 10 LILA tracts.
- #700
- national by low-access %
- #13
- in AL
- 18
- low-access tracts
- 16K
- food-desert residents
Upper-band counties often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts. Low access = >1 mile urban / >10 miles rural.
Signature read: 10 LILA tracts (37% of tracts) .
How Lee County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Lee County's 33.6% low-access share is elevated, higher than 78% of them and ranked #702 most-affected nationwide.
Lee County's elevated USDA tier split
27 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 10 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Lee County has 22 urban and 5 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Lee County vs nearby high low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Alabama, not a full county-board reprint
- Bullock
Bullock 68.5%
68.5 % low-access
- Jefferson
Jefferson 34.4%
34.4 % low-access
- Shelby
Shelby 34.4%
34.4 % low-access
- Autauga
Autauga 33.9%
33.9 % low-access
- Lee
Lee 33.6%
33.6 % low-access
- Colbert
Colbert 32.9%
32.9 % low-access
- DeKalb 0
DeKalb 0%
0 % low-access
FARA 2019 · elevated low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 27 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 140,247 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 18 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 10 |
| Low-Access Population | 47,076 |
| Low-Access Share | 33.6%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 15,524 |
ACS 2024 · lower SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 181,134 |
| Median Household Income | $65,824 |
| Poverty Rate | 18.9%above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 6,949 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 10.0%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 4.8%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 4.1% |
Thick SNAP store book in Lee County
Lee County has 125 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 11 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 53 locations (42% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 53
- 2nd avenue food mart, opelika
- 4th street station, opelika
- big dad grocery, opelika
- circle k 1659, auburn
- circle k 2701555, auburn
- circle k 2706698, opelika
- circle k 2723663, opelika
- circle k 6690, opelika
- circle k 6703, auburn
- circle k 708, opelika
- circle k ke 707, auburn
- circle k store 2709304, auburn
- circle k store 2709308, auburn
- corner market, auburn
- crossroads bp llc, phenix city
- delta express mart, phenix city
- fiesta supermarket 1, opelika
- grubmart 22, auburn
- grubmart 24, auburn
- gateway food mart, opelika
- goal post, auburn
- grub mart 20, opelika
- grubmart 28, opelika
- jk food mart, opelika
- joes grocery, opelika
- k & h management, auburn
- love's travel stop 774, smiths station
- mapco express, inc. 5183, auburn
- miller grocery, auburn
- mini mart food store, opelika
- mr sunnys food & gas, opelika
- murphy usa 7794, opelika
- murphy usa 7940, auburn
- neighborhood market, opelika
- panther quick mart 1, smiths station
- quick stop, opelika
- quiktrip 7172, opelika
- quiktrip 7183, opelika
- racetrac 2628, opelika
- racetrac 2683, auburn
- raceway 6713, opelika
- salem get n go, salem
- stop n shop, auburn
- store 109, phenix city
- terry's get-n-go, inc., smiths station
- terrys 280 mararthon llc, smiths station
- the quick, auburn
- the store 2, valley
- the store 4 marathon 1, opelika
- tienda latina grocery store llc 1, opelika
- tiger food mart, auburn
- tiger pride food mart, auburn
- young oil 27, opelika
Combination Grocery/Other · 38
- cvs 10208, auburn
- cvs pharmacy 1777, auburn
- cvs pharmacy 1824, phenix city
- cvs pharmacy 2402, auburn
- cvs pharmacy 4949, opelika
- dollar general 13945, auburn
- dollar general 14520, auburn
- dollar general 15353, opelika
- dollar general 1601, opelika
- dollar general 18638, opelika
- dollar general 19043, opelika
- dollar general 8665, auburn
- dollar general 9240, opelika
- dollar general 9910, smiths station
- dollar general store 9600, opelika
- dollartree 8721, phenix city
- dollartree 9397, opelika
- dollar general 10320, cusseta
- dollar general 10352, opelika
- dollar general 12740, opelika
- dollar general 15879, auburn
- dollar general 16260, phenix city
- dollar general 16750, auburn
- dollar general 20427, auburn
- dollar general 23445, salem
- dollar general 25153, phenix city
- dollar general 30938, salem
- dollar general 31014, salem
- dollar general 6519, opelika
- dollar general 8231, smiths station
- dollar general 9253, smiths station
- dollar tree 0281, opelika
- dollar tree 6339, auburn
- dollar tree 7114, opelika
- family dollar 13880, opelika
- family dollar store 320, opelika
- walgreens 10947, opelika
- walgreens 9397, auburn
Super Store · 11
- kroger 260, auburn
- kroger store 631, opelika
- piggly wiggly 443, opelika
- sam's club 4989, auburn
- target store t-1499, opelika
- target store t3421, auburn
- wright's market, opelika
- walmart neighborhood market 4673, auburn
- walmart neighborhood market 5062, auburn
- walmart s/c 356, auburn
- walmart supercenter 355, opelika
Supermarket · 10
- aldi 76046, opelika
- aldi 76197, auburn
- asian supermarket, opelika
- publix 1086, phenix city
- publix 1294, auburn
- publix 1355, auburn
- publix alabama, llc 1822, auburn
- renfroe's market 713, smiths station
- terry's grocery, smiths station
- winn-dixie 0437, opelika
Small Grocery Store · 6
- la gaudlapana supermarket, auburn
- market opelika, opelika
- tienda el paraiso # 2 llc 1, opelika
- tienda la chapina llc 1, opelika
- tienda ramirez grocery store 1, opelika
- tienda vicente llc, opelika
Farmers' Market · 2
- o grows opelika farmers' market, opelika
- rising gardens community market, auburn
Fruits/Veg Specialty · 1
- parkway farmers market inc, opelika
Large Grocery Store · 1
- the country market 368, salem
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1
- the steak factory, opelika
Medium Grocery Store · 1
- mi poblanita supermarket, opelika
Seafood Specialty · 1
- creekstand catfish farm, salem
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Alabama
One of 66 counties in Alabama, 6 are shown here.
Compare Lee County vs Autauga County → · All Alabama counties →
Counties near Lee County's elevated low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Lee County, both outside Alabama so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside AL (33.6% here).
- Newton County, GA · 33.6% low-access
- Newton County, GA · 33.6% low-access
- Henry County, IA · 33.6% low-access
- Henry County, IA · 33.6% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside AL (10.0% here).
- Pulaski County, AR · 10.0% SNAP
- Pulaski County, AR · 10.0% SNAP
- Palm Beach County, FL · 10.0% SNAP
- Palm Beach County, FL · 10.0% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Lee County inside a higher low-access state context
Lee County sits inside Alabama (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Lee County, AL are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 01081. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.