Hartselle, Alabama

Area Profile

15,847 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hartselle, in Morgan County.

67out of 100
Area Score
Top 21% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 19% of 4,199 cities measured73
SchoolsTop 9% of 4,162 cities measured82
GrowthTop 38% of 4,224 cities measured55
Housing affordabilityTop 39% of 4,218 cities measured70
ClimateTop 24% of 4,225 cities measured77
Physical resilience2,447th of 4,226 cities measured49
Access2,463rd of 4,226 cities measured90
Economic stability3,303rd of 4,226 cities measured40
The quick read

Hartselle ranks in the top 19% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.0% and median household income of $76,290. The unemployment rate is published for Morgan County, AL, which contains Hartselle, rather than for Hartselle alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 70% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 9% of published profiles for schools.

44 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% 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
15,847
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$76,290
Top 37% nationally
Density
950/sq mi
16.7 sq mi of land
Median age
38.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Alabama
Metro area
Nearest major airport
HSV
17 mi · Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld
Median home value
$203,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Morgan County, AL, which contains Hartselle, is 3.0%, lower than in 93% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Morgan County, AL, which contains Hartselle, fell 1.1% over the past year, to 59,864 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMorgan County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$58,07122nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMorgan County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,90515th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$12,5082024 ACS 5-Year$76,290Top 37%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,4352024 ACS 5-Year$35,419Top 45%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.6%Bottom 39%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.4 minBottom 32%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year27.9%Top 34%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year85.7%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMorgan County, AL’s figureJuly 202659,864Top 50%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Morgan County, AL’s figureJuly 2026+3.5%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Morgan County, AL’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Bottom 44%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMorgan County, AL’s figureJuly 202661,72450th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%Bottom 41%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageDecatur, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$57,830Bottom 9%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageDecatur, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,280Bottom 11%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Morgan County, AL’s figureJuly 2026+0.5%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMorgan County, AL’s figureJuly 20263.0%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202476k62k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $76,290 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.

Largest occupations — Decatur, AL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators1,830$43,120
Retail Salespersons1,580$31,550
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,420$59,390
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,280$25,720
Cashiers1,260$28,880
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,260$43,900

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

70% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 67% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across 6 of them
Math proficiency
69.9%
Top 13% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
66.8%
Top 10% in Alabama
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Hartselle High SchoolHartselle City1,02714.575%73%
Crestline Elementary SchoolHartselle City71014.872%62%
Hartselle Junior High SchoolHartselle City55315.466%60%
Hartselle Intermediate SchoolHartselle City52215.458%64%
FE Burleson Elementary SchoolHartselle City45215.662%62%
Barkley Bridge Elementary SchoolHartselle City41916.882%77%
Morgan County Learning CenterMorgan County0———

34.9% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Decatur, AL Metro Area is up 49% over five years, and up 2.0% 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 $623 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.31% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $961, some 20% above the $804 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $961 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,400 a year, about 50% of the median household income here of $76,290.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $804 a month.

A median home at $203,800 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $98,322, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
89.2

Prices here run about 11% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Decatur, AL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$961
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$804
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$203,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Hartselle’s median household income of $76,290, 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
Cost of living indexthe Decatur, AL Metro Area’s figure202389.2Top 5%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Decatur, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.0%34th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Decatur, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+48.7%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Decatur, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+99.4%60th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 35%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year77.9%54th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3422024 ACS 5-Year6,50991st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$776Top 6%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,262Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$961Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$652024 ACS 5-Year$804Top 29%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,5382024 ACS 5-Year$203,80054th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$712024 ACS 5-Year$62310th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,7882024 ACS 5-Year$98,322Top 29%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.31%2nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year31.2%Bottom 35%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±512024 ACS 5-Year4481st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%59th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%59th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2122024 ACS 5-Year61892nd 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

55/ 100
Top 38% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of 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 grown 4% since 2020, reaching 16,201 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 16,201 residents in 2024, up 1.0% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 44 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Morgan County, which contains Hartselle, gained about 0.5% 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 $58,071, above the $54,905 of households that moved out.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
44
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Top 47% nationally
Year over year
−4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202416k16k
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 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
33%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$58,071
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$54,905
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Madison County, AL 1,059 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Lawrence County, AL 511 people · 9.9% of arrivals
  3. Cullman County, AL 450 people · 8.7% of arrivals
  4. Limestone County, AL 448 people · 8.7% of arrivals
  5. Marshall County, AL 162 people · 3.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Madison County, AL 879 people · 19% of departures
  2. Lawrence County, AL 613 people · 13% of departures
  3. Limestone County, AL 507 people · 11% of departures
  4. Cullman County, AL 449 people · 9.6% of departures
  5. Marshall County, AL 188 people · 4.0% 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 Morgan County, AL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420259842
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−25%).

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 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.5 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DECATUR PRYOR FLD, 14.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals49.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

49 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 37% of it.

TornadoModerate
LightningModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, winter weather, ice storm, hurricane, hail, wildfire, drought, landslide, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

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
220
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,736
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.

Hartselle's police department reported 220 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,736.

Morgan County has a modeled homicide rate of about 6.8 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 20.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.8 per 100,000 residents in Morgan County.

Homicide
6.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
20.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.6
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Hartselle’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 Hartselle (Morgan County) rather than Hartselle 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld at 17 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.1%Bottom 39%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle17 miTop 47%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%Bottom 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV17 mi10,001 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM62 mi12,007 ft
SmyrnaMQY111 mi8,038 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
67
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Other cities in Decatur, AL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
DecaturMorgan County57,36165Decatur vs Hartselle

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Hartselle side by side with a similar place.

Hartselle vs Lenoir CityHartselle vs Gallatin

Moving to Hartselle from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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 Hartselle

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Hartselle 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 Hartselle 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
3564027,344$76,620$210,000—