By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

Residents of Chilton County live in one of the most “paycheck-friendly” counties in the state, according to a national website.

The Smartasset.com website recently calculated the most paycheck-friendly places in the state, and ranked each county based on four financial criteria: Semi-monthly paycheck, purchasing power, unemployment rate and income growth.

“Our study aims to find the most paycheck friendly places in the country. These are places in the country with favorable economic conditions where you get to keep more of the money you make,” read the website.

Chilton County came in at No. 19 out of Alabama’s 67 counties, posting high marks in the semi-monthly paycheck and purchasing power categories.

Chilton County posted an average semi-monthly paycheck of $1,604, which ranked No 2 in the state behind Escambia County. The monthly paycheck amount allows Chilton County residents to have a 1.48-times purchasing power, which ranks No. 16 in the state.

Chilton County posted a 6.2 percent unemployment rate on the website, which ranked No. 17 out of all Alabama counties, and posted an income growth rate of 1.4 percent, which was good enough for 26^th in the state.

Shelby County topped Alabama’s overall paycheck friendliness rankings, posting an overall score of 47.82 on the paycheck friendliness index.

Shelby County’s overall paycheck friendliness rate of 47.82 topped No. 2 Madison County at 45.08, No. 3 Limestone County at 43.34, No. 4 Tuscaloosa County at 43.03 and No. 5 Elmore County at 42.92.

Rounding out the top 10 were No. 6 St. Clair County at 42.65, No. 7 Henry County at 42.63, No. 8 Bullock County at 42.52, No. 9 Autauga County at 41.79 and No. 10 Lee County at 41.72.

To view the entire rankings, visit Smartasset.com/taxes/alabama-paycheck-calculator#alabama/overall.