Reckon by AL.com has been presenting the numbers on Alabama and the South for over a year in the form of Reckonomics. During that year, Alabama has been right in the thick of the national conversation time and time again. Let's look back at some of that data.

Alabama is the nation's sixth poorest state, according to Alabama Possible. The state poverty rate is 17.2 percent, but it's different in every county. Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

A look at Alabama's poverty rate by county

In June Reckon looked at Alabama's poverty rate by county, thanks to data from Alabama Possible, a statewide nonprofit aiming to address systemic poverty. The statewide rate according to Alabama Possible is 17.2 percent, but it varies drastically by county. Alabama's Black Belt really sticks out on the map.

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Earlier this week we looked at Alabama's overall poverty rate, but the numbers are stark when you break it down by race. Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Saturday, June 16, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Poverty rate by race

Following up a look at statewide poverty rates, Reckon aimed to break it down further by looking at the racial gap. There's a big gap in statewide poverty between white and black people, and most of the counties follow that trend. But there are a couple that don't.

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Lots of notes from the latest Census estimates: Huntsville's growing like a weed, Mobile's been steady for decades, and we wonder what happened in the 1960s to make folks want to leave Birmingham 🤔🤔🤔 Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Thursday, May 24, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Population change in Alabama's largest cities

In May the U.S. Census Bureau released its latest population estimates, and Alabama's largest cities seem to be meeting in the middle. Guess what? Huntsville is on pace to become the largest city in Alabama, and soon.

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Alabama ranks fifth in the nation in incarceration rate, behind four other Southern states (if you include Oklahoma in the South, anyway) Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Saturday, June 9, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Incarceration rates in Southern states

Reckon looks at data from more than just Alabama. Here's a look at Southern incarceration rates. If you're confused by the inclusion of Delaware, Maryland, Oklahoma or any of these states as part of 'The South,' don't blame us. This is the U.S. Census Bureau's definition.

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102 of Alabama's 137 public school systems used corporal punishment in 2015-16. Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Friday, April 20, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Does your school paddle? Probably

Most of Alabama's public school systems used corporal punishment in 2015-16, according to the Alabama Department of Education. And 21 used it a lot.

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Have you ever crossed state lines to buy liquor? Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Saturday, March 24, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Spirits taxes in the South

Alabama's spirits tax is crazy high, even compared to most other Southern states. That's probably why so many people drive across state lines to buy booze.

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Alabama set a record for exports last year, shipping out $21.7 billion worth of goods to 189 countries. Read more from William Thornton: http://s.al.com/kwzpryW Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Thursday, February 15, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Exports Exceed Expectations

All hail the SS Reckonomics!

2017 was a banner year for Alabama exports - and take a look at where we sent goods last year. Gov. Kay Ivey warned the Trump Administration last month that the state could lose 4,000 jobs because of tariffs the president is proposing. She wrote that all five of those countries could potentially retaliate with tariffs of their own.

"Such a loss would be devastating to thousands of families across our state," Ivey wrote.

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Alabama is one of just three states, according to Census estimates, where the number of residents born in other nations fell from 2010 to 2016. Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Monday, October 23, 2017

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Alabama in rare company

Every now and then Reckon spreads its aim nationally. In October of last year we looked at changing foreign-born populations and found Alabama among just a handful of states where that number was actually shrinking.

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High school football participation is down nationwide, dropping 3.5 percent in 5 years. So what's the future of football? Read more from the Associated Press: https://trib.al/r7dLSNO Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Saturday, October 14, 2017

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Sports!

Reckon rarely dips its toes into the sports world, but last October we did just that. It turns out football is declining in most of the United States, though not in Alabama. What's the future of the nation's favorite sport?

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Tuscaloosa has the 7th highest ratio of industrial robots to workers among U.S. metros. Anniston and Florence aren't too far behind. Read more: http://trib.al/IRRduPK Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

I, Robot

This isn't science fiction. Alabama is full of robots. There are a ton of them in Tuscaloosa (they're not on the University of Alabama's football team, as far as we know), and you can bet there will be a bunch more in Huntsville when the Toyota-Mazda plant is up and running.

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If you want to run for elected office in Alabama, qualifying begins today and runs through February 9th. Here's the current makeup of the state Legislature. Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Monday, January 8, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Legislature breakdown

In January Reckon took a look at the breakdown of Alabama's Legislature by party. There was a primary for all of these seats in June, with a runoff scheduled for July 17 and a general election in November.

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Alabama residents spend more on electricity than almost any state in the Country. Only South Carolina pays a bigger... Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Thursday, March 1, 2018

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

It's not the heat, it's the humidity. And maybe also the heat

Alabama uses a whole lot of electricity, and a lot of it is probably used on air conditioning. We also pay more for it than most other states, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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"Maybe it's time to spend less time at the Paris Air Show recruiting foreign business, and more time building our own." Read more from John Archibald: http://s.al.com/SxqxMXE Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Monday, August 7, 2017

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Black-owned businesses?

Black-owned businesses with employees in Alabama fall far short of the actual black population in terms of a percentage. Read more on the issue from Reckon's Pulitzer Prize winning columnist John Archibald back in August of last year.

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New jobs in Alabama's three largest metros look very different. In Birmingham, nearly half the new jobs in 2016 were in... Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Monday, August 14, 2017

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Birmingham's got the food

Birmingham is home to the best restaurant in America. Turns out it's also home to a whole lot of other restaurants, and a whole lot of restaurant jobs. Meanwhile Huntsville has been adding all sorts of jobs, but not much in the food industry.

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The 23 counties on this map that aren't pure red make up exactly 50 percent of the state's population. Could they decide Alabama's next senator? Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Election prediction

It wasn't that long ago that the idea of Alabama having a Democratic senator was just shy of insane. But it happened. And before it happened, Reckon showed you where to look to see Jones' potential path to victory. This map turned out to be pretty accurate on election night.

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Counties to watch on election night Want to sound smart to your friends on election night? Pay attention to this video. Posted by Reckon by AL.com on Monday, December 11, 2017

Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Election prediction video

Reckon turned that last Reckonomics into a video, which was nominated for a Southeast Emmy Award - one of four nominations Reckon pulled this year. Though this one didn't win, another one from Reckon's Kyle Whitmire did. That video was on Doug Jones' opponent, Roy Moore.

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Ramsey Archibald (rarchibald@al.com)

Want more Reckonomics?

For more data and numbers, follow us on Facebook at Reckon by AL.com and Twitter @reckonalabama. Also, subscribe to our newsletter, where Reckonomics make frequent appearances.

Have an idea for some data dives we can look into? Email them to rarchibald@al.com.