Alexander City, Alabama

Area Profile

14,606 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Alexander City, in Tallapoosa County.

49out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 17% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity3,214th of 4,199 cities measured44
Schools3,116th of 4,162 cities measured30
Growth2,296th of 4,224 cities measured48
Housing affordabilityTop 13% of 4,218 cities measured80
ClimateTop 43% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilience3,271st of 4,226 cities measured29
Access3,782nd of 4,226 cities measured69
Economic stability3,910th of 4,226 cities measured28
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 3.9% and the Opportunity signal places Alexander City in the bottom 23%. The unemployment rate is published for Tallapoosa County, AL, which contains Alexander City, rather than for Alexander City alone.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.3 students for every teacher.

65 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 10% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
14,606
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$47,022
Bottom 18% nationally
Density
317/sq mi
46 sq mi of land
Median age
41.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Alabama
Nearest major airport
MGM
50 mi · Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)
Median home value
$155,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Tallapoosa County, AL, which contains Alexander City, is 3.9%, lower than in 65% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Tallapoosa County, AL, which contains Alexander City, fell 2.0% over the past year, to 15,761 employed residents.

Median household income of $47,022 is lower than in 82% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsTallapoosa County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$84,25966th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftTallapoosa County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,85738th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,4582024 ACS 5-Year$47,022Bottom 18%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,7142024 ACS 5-Year$28,658Bottom 32%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year25.8%Bottom 14%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.2 minTop 22%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year20.2%Bottom 49%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year83.9%72nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentTallapoosa County, AL’s figureJuly 202615,761Bottom 15%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Tallapoosa County, AL’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Top 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Tallapoosa County, AL’s figureJuly 2026−2.0%Bottom 20%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceTallapoosa County, AL’s figureJuly 202616,40815th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year74.1%Bottom 37%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Tallapoosa County, AL’s figureJuly 2026+0.8%Bottom 6%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateTallapoosa County, AL’s figureJuly 20263.9%Top 35%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.6%34th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202447k42k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $47,022 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Tallapoosa County, AL, which contains this city.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.3 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
42.0%
Bottom 29% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
40.4%
Bottom 29% in Alabama
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Benjamin Russell High SchoolAlexander City85215.540%46%
Jim Pearson Elementary SchoolAlexander City70417.2——
Nathaniel H Stephens Elementary SchoolAlexander City43621.838%36%
Alexander City Middle SchoolAlexander City43017.247%38%
William L Radney Elementary SchoolAlexander City41418.045%36%

64.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Alabama’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Alabama is up 50% over five years, and up 5.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $532 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.34% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $900, some 25% above the $721 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $900 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $36,000 a year, about 77% of the median household income here of $47,022.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $721 a month.

A median home at $155,000 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $61,138, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$900
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$721
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$155,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Alexander City’s median household income of $47,022, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Alabama’s figure2026 Q2+5.2%80th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Alabama’s figure2026 Q2+49.8%77th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Alabama’s figure2026 Q2+89.5%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year2.5Bottom 48%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year62.9%25th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3652024 ACS 5-Year7,29892nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$750Top 4%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,130Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$900Top 2%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$732024 ACS 5-Year$721Top 18%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,0392024 ACS 5-Year$155,00039th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$812024 ACS 5-Year$5327th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,2062024 ACS 5-Year$61,138Bottom 25%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.34%3rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.8%Top 41%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1762024 ACS 5-Year39096th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%81st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%63rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2822024 ACS 5-Year1,10195th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

48/ 100
Ranks 2,296 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 3% since 2020, to 14,439 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 66 units authorized in 2025, 13% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 65 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Tallapoosa County, which contains Alexander City, lost about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $84,259, above the $66,857 of households that moved out.

At 4.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
65
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.5
Top 32% nationally
Year over year
−10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202415k14k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
28%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$84,259
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$66,857
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lee County, AL 301 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Elmore County, AL 244 people · 14% of arrivals
  3. Coosa County, AL 118 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  4. Montgomery County, AL 111 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  5. Talladega County, AL 84 people · 4.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lee County, AL 317 people · 17% of departures
  2. Elmore County, AL 254 people · 14% of departures
  3. Coosa County, AL 156 people · 8.3% of departures
  4. Talladega County, AL 99 people · 5.3% of departures
  5. Jefferson County, AL 80 people · 4.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Tallapoosa County, AL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420259728
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+136%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 57.0 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ALEXANDER CITY, 2.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals57.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

29 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 67% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

WildfireModerate
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate
Inland floodingHigh
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, strong wind, drought, hail, ice storm, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
809
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
3,193
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Alexander City's police department reported 809 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,193.

Tallapoosa County has a modeled homicide rate of about 10.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 27.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 9.2 per 100,000 residents in Tallapoosa County.

Homicide
10.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
27.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
17.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Alexander City’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Alexander City (Tallapoosa County) rather than Alexander City itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld) at 50 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year84.1%Bottom 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle50 miBottom 12%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.6%Bottom 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM50 mi9,020 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM65 mi12,007 ft
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta IntlATL101 mi12,390 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Alexander City

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Alexander City with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Alexander City closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3501019,347$51,338$149,100—