Camden, Alabama is a classic rural southern town, and the county bills itself as the “hunting and fishing capital of Alabama.” The main industries here are logging, farming, and, more recently, business related to the Hyundai plant which opened in 2005, but the county is poor – household income of $26,000 is nearly half the national average. And people have to travel a long way to work.

The combination of low wages and long travel times means the people of Camden, for the second year in a row, spent a higher portion of their income on gas than anyone else in the country, according to a study from the Oil Price Information Service, a research firm that tracks data for AAA. In Camden, drivers put 13% of every paycheck right into the gas tank. In wealthy towns around New York City, people spend less than 2% of their income on gas.

For local businesses, an extra dollar spent in the tank means one not spent at the restaurant or hardware store. But not every business is struggling. A worker behind the counter at the local bait and tackle shop says they’ve had a bumper year. Evidently, folks will hunt and fish no matter what the economy’s doing – maybe even more so if they’re out of work.

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