Cat's Back, please help!

My cat is fairly young. I'll say 2 years maximum. He's always had scabs on his back so I thought nothing of it. But, recently he was licking his back more and losing fur. Now he has raw, scabby skin all along his spine and a good amount of fur has fallen off. I don't know what it is and can not afford to take him to the vet so im praying for some insight. here's a picture of his back. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thank you!

That looks pretty serious to me. Does he has any other symptoms?
I know that this can happen if cats are extremely stressed for a long time. Do you think your cat is stressed at the moment?

Does he has fleas? It could be a flea allergy, or another allergy. It can also be a skin disease.

It's hard to say, but I hope you are able to go to the vet anyway because he must feel this constantly. I think it doesn't go away by itself.

You can try giving him a bath. There are shampoos made for pets with hot spots and severe skin irritations, but make sure it says on the label that you can use it on cats. Get him good and dry. Put a cone on him to stop him licking at it. Get him to the vet as soon as you can.

he does have fleas. im not sure if he is stressed. are there any other ways i can tell if he's stressed?

I would start by eliminating the fleas. You can give him a good bath in Original Blue Dawn. You also need to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum and wash all his bedding/blankets.

If you can, get a CapStar pill from the vet (usually costs just a few dollars)...this will kill all ADULT fleas on him. Then get him started on a monthly flea med (Advantage, Frontline, Comfortis.)

Does your cat go outside? If so, I'd keep him in until the skin clears up.

It's important to get rid of the fleas. This might be the cause of this, maybe combined with a flea allergy which makes the problem worse.
I recommend to use Advantage. You can ask your vet what to do if your cat might have a flea allergy, or you can search on google.
I think it's very important to treat your cat as soon as possible with a certain product as Advantage. Worming your cat is important as well.

Sometimes it's hard to see if a cat is stressed. Some cats show other signals than others. Did anything changed in his area? Does he go outside and is he fighting with other cats in the neighborhood? Every (small) change in his area can be a cause for stress, also inside the house.
The cat’s ears may be laid back flat, the pupils dilated, the body may be in a crouched position. Just think about how most cats tend to look when they’re sitting on the examination table at the veterinarian’s office.

However, it's important to exclude medical issues first. After that, you can start thinking about behavior problems.