Prior to Euro-American settlement in this area, it was occupied by the Abihka tribe of the Creek Confederacy.

Talladega County was established on December 18, 1832, from land ceded by the Creek Indians near the state's geographic center.

[6] It is drained by Choccolocco Creek (archaic spelling: Chockolocko) and other streams.

[7] The county is located within the Coosa River Valley and the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, with the state's highest point, Mount Cheaha, being located on its northeastern border with Cleburne County.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 82,149 people, 30,602 households, and 20,515 families residing in the county.

In 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Talladega County were: There were 30,674 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 52.40% were married couples living together, 15.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families.

However, Doug Jones, in his 2017 bid for the Senate managed to flip the county Democratic, due to sexual misconduct allegations against his opponent, Roy Moore.

Donald Trump nevertheless won the county by wide margins against Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections respectively.

The Birmingham Supplementary School Inc. (BSS, バーミングハム日本語補習校 Bāminguhamu Nihongo Hoshūkō), a part-time Japanese school, has its office at the Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC facility in unincorporated Talladega County, near Lincoln.

It holds its classes at the Shelby-Hoover campus of Jefferson State Community College in Hoover.