Talladega County, AL

County Profile

81,021 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Talladega County, AL.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

47out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 11% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,334th of 1,463 counties measured29
Schools1,189th of 1,377 counties measured20
Growth890th of 1,453 counties measured44
Housing affordabilityTop 19% of 1,462 counties measured81
ClimateTop 12% of 1,463 counties measured77
Physical resilience1,100th of 1,463 counties measured38
Access750th of 1,463 counties measured80
Economic stability1,308th of 1,463 counties measured26
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 4.2% and the Opportunity signal places Talladega County in the bottom 9%.

In the public schools here, 37% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.5 students for every teacher.

202 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 6% 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
81,021
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$57,776
Bottom 29% nationally
Density
110/sq mi
736.8 sq mi of land
Median age
42.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Talladega County
Alabama
Nearest major airport
BHM
36 mi · Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl
Median home value
$149,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2% — higher than in all but 47% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 33,112 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$53,43534th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$47,70916th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,4572024 ACS 5-Year$57,776Bottom 29%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5642024 ACS 5-Year$30,482Bottom 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$43,842Bottom 5%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.7%Bottom 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.2 minBottom 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year16.5%Bottom 20%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.8%93rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202633,112Bottom 49%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 22%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 17%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202634,56649th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year66.7%Bottom 16%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%33rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+1.0%Bottom 4%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.2%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%10th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.72.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202458k45k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $57,776 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.

37% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 37% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.5 students for every full-time teacher across 24 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
31
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.5
across 24 of them
Math proficiency
37.4%
Bottom 20% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
37.4%
Bottom 28% in Alabama
The 12 largest of 31 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lincoln Elementary SchoolTalladega County90218.441%43%
Munford Elementary SchoolTalladega County77019.748%52%
Talladega High SchoolTalladega City63421.117%17%
Sylacauga High SchoolSylacauga City62715.737%37%
Lincoln High SchoolTalladega County60719.637%37%
Fayetteville High SchoolTalladega County58020.061%55%
BB Comer Memorial Elementary SchoolTalladega County52118.030%34%
Indian Valley Elementary SchoolSylacauga City47716.4——
Charles R Drew Middle SchoolTalladega County44819.544%46%
NicholsLawson Middle SchoolSylacauga City44615.446%43%
Pinecrest Elementary SchoolSylacauga City42620.346%39%
BB Comer Memorial High SchoolTalladega County39519.817%27%

60.6% 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 $544 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.36% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $814, close to the $785 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $814 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $32,600 a year, about 56% of the median household income here of $57,776.

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 $785 a month.

A median home at $149,200 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $65,185, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$814
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$785
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$149,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Talladega County’s median household income of $57,776, 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%76th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Alabama’s figure2026 Q2+49.8%68th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Alabama’s figure2026 Q2+89.5%42nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 38%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year72.0%37th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±642024 ACS 5-Year38,54779th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$682Top 4%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,107Top 4%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$814Top 3%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$292024 ACS 5-Year$785Top 31%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,5472024 ACS 5-Year$149,20030th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$272024 ACS 5-Year$5445th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,7002024 ACS 5-Year$65,185Bottom 24%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.36%5th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.5%Top 37%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3072024 ACS 5-Year1,03975th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%50th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.0%57th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5022024 ACS 5-Year4,90379th percentileof 3,2222024 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

44/ 100
Ranks 890 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 81,375 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 81,375 residents in 2024, up 0.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before. That recent rise has not yet made up the 0% decline since 2020.

Federal tax returns show Talladega County gained about 0.7% 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 $53,435, above the $47,709 of households that moved out.

At 2.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
202
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.5
Bottom 44% nationally
Year over year
+6%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
34.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202481k81k
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 rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,435
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$47,709
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Calhoun County, AL 746 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. St. Clair County, AL 364 people · 10.0% of arrivals
  3. Jefferson County, AL 315 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  4. Shelby County, AL 284 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  5. Coosa County, AL 123 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Calhoun County, AL 634 people · 20% of departures
  2. St. Clair County, AL 336 people · 10% of departures
  3. Shelby County, AL 300 people · 9.2% of departures
  4. Jefferson County, AL 252 people · 7.8% of departures
  5. Coosa County, AL 150 people · 4.6% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025189128
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+48%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 33°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 52.2 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TALLADEGA 10 NNE, 15.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals52.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals33°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

38 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 55% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoHigh
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneModerate
LightningModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, wildfire, 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). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Talladega County records 16.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 33.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.0 per 100,000 residents in Talladega County.

Homicide
16.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
33.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.8
per 100,000 residents

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.

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 Talladega County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl at 36 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year87.2%Top 48%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle36 miBottom 49%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year11.1%Bottom 43%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM36 mi12,007 ft
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM75 mi9,020 ft
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV94 mi10,001 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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Area Score
47
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
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 areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.