A small county in Alabama’s rural Wiregrass region is home to the state’s highest share of federal workers.

Coffee County, in the southeastern part of the state, is home to the U.S. Army Aviation headquarters. That’s also true for Dale County, which shares a border with Coffee County.

Meanwhile, Perry County, in the Black Belt, has the smallest share of federal workers. They made up 0.9% of the workforce at just 13 workers, as of September 2024.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has fired at least 58,000 federal workers, with more than 76,000 taking buyouts and more threats of cuts on the way, The New York Times reported. But there’s been no official tally of the cuts, and no one can say how many have been fired in Alabama.

In some Alabama communities with a major federal workforce and military presence, government contractors have been announcing layoffs.

The Boeing Co. planned layoffs of 71 employees in Huntsville for April, in part because of changes to its contract with NASA’s moon rocket program. Up to 10% of NASA employees are out of work because of buyouts and the firing of probationary workers, which could impact Huntsville, as well.

And government contractor Amentum announced layoffs for 60 employees in Anniston, where the U.S. Army Depot is located. Those layoffs were also slated for April.

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Here are the counties that have the highest share of federal workers, according to census data analyzed by AL.com.

1. Coffee County, 15%

The southeast Alabama county in the Wiregrass region has 2,425 federal workers. It includes some of the 63,000 acres of Fort Novosel, a U.S. Army post which is mostly contained across the Dale County line. The site serves as the U.S. Army Aviation headquarters.

2. Madison County, 12%

The north Alabama county, home to Huntsville’s massive military and contractor presence, has more than 17,800 federal workers. That includes Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which contributes to U.S. space exploration efforts and rocket engineering. The county is also the third fastest-growing in the state, and Huntsville is the 15th fastest-growing metro in the country.

3. Dale County, 10%

The southeast Alabama county in the Wiregrass region is home to Ozark. The metro area has the highest share of federal workers in the state, the Washington Post reported and ranks No. 8 in the country. Dale County has more than 1,300 federal workers, not counting the military personnel on base at Fort Novosel.

The region is an aviation hub, claiming 25% of the state’s aerospace industry. Fort Novosel includes the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, where military helicopter pilots from all over the country come to train.

4. Russell County, 9%

The east Alabama county, home to Phenix City, has more than 1,500 federal workers. Russell County borders Georgia and includes part of the Columbus metro area, along the Chattahoochee River. Just across that border is Fort Benning, a U.S. Army fort that supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, military trainees, family members and civilian employees.

5. Limestone County, 8%

The north Alabama county, which sits just west of Huntsville, has more than 3,100 federal workers. It’s the fastest-growing county in the state, and many of its residents are commuters who work in Huntsville.