Montgomery, Alabama

Area Profile

197,494 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Montgomery, in Montgomery County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 28% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,110th of 4,199 cities measured45
Schools3,938th of 4,162 cities measured13
GrowthTop 39% of 4,224 cities measured55
Housing affordabilityTop 45% of 4,218 cities measured68
ClimateTop 48% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilience2,120th of 4,226 cities measured57
AccessTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stability3,937th of 4,226 cities measured27
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.1% and the Opportunity signal places Montgomery in the bottom 26%.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.0 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.2 times what its owners earn.

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
197,494
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$56,811
Bottom 34% nationally
Density
1,235/sq mi
159.9 sq mi of land
Median age
36.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Alabama
Metro area
Nearest major airport
MGM
8 mi · Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)
Median home value
$161,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.1%, lower than in 58% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.4% over the past year, to 84,668 employed residents.

34% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 75% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMontgomery County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,13518th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMontgomery County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$68,87442nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,3122024 ACS 5-Year$56,811Bottom 34%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,1712024 ACS 5-Year$33,458Bottom 49%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year20.6%Bottom 22%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.1 minTop 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year33.8%Top 25%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year79.5%58th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202684,668Top 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.6%Bottom 44%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.4%Bottom 15%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202688,32955th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year73.7%Bottom 35%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMontgomery, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$55,740Bottom 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMontgomery, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$44,950Bottom 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.7%Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.1%Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%52nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.82.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.1% 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

202120222023202457k50k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $56,811 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 — Montgomery, AL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators7,410$45,380
Retail Salespersons4,720$29,650
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive4,060$40,260
Registered Nurses3,990$79,570
Stockers and Order Fillers3,780$34,370
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand3,510$37,370

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.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 33% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.0 students for every full-time teacher across 52 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
54
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.0
across 52 of them
Math proficiency
30.8%
Bottom 9% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
33.0%
Bottom 10% in Alabama
The 12 largest of 54 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Johnson Abernathy Graetz High SchoolMontgomery County1,58718.713%14%
Carver Senior High SchoolMontgomery County1,55321.017%22%
Percy Julian High SchoolMontgomery County1,28217.310%18%
Park Crossing High SchoolMontgomery County88218.423%30%
Brewbaker Middle SchoolMontgomery County80617.916%19%
Carr Middle SchoolMontgomery County77418.428%34%
Goodwyn Middle SchoolMontgomery County71719.411%21%
Dalraida Elementary SchoolMontgomery County71120.334%41%
Halcyon Elementary SchoolMontgomery County69419.847%43%
Brewbaker Primary SchoolMontgomery County65114.8——
Forest Avenue Elementary SchoolMontgomery County61716.290%93%
LIFE Academy at Historic St Jude Educational Institute · charterLIFE Academy59925.0——

71.2% 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 10% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.9, 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 Montgomery, AL Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and up 6.0% 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 $643 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.40% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,184, some 9% above the $1,089 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,184 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,400 a year, about 83% of the median household income here of $56,811.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,089 a month.

A median home at $161,900 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,519, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
89.9

Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Montgomery, 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
32.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,184
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,089
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$161,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Montgomery’s median household income of $56,811, 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 Montgomery, AL Metro Area’s figure202389.9Top 7%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Montgomery, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.0%87th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Montgomery, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+41.0%46th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Montgomery, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+64.0%9th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 40%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year54.4%13th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4452024 ACS 5-Year94,58099th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,012Top 24%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,520Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,184Top 20%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$212024 ACS 5-Year$1,089Bottom 40%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,2152024 ACS 5-Year$161,90042nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$322024 ACS 5-Year$64310th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,6442024 ACS 5-Year$73,519Bottom 43%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.40%5th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year32.3%Bottom 30%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1402024 ACS 5-Year29295th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.8%76th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±8122024 ACS 5-Year13,33999th 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 39% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, 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 2% since 2020, to 195,818 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 503 units authorized in 2025, up 100% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Montgomery County, which contains Montgomery, lost about 1.3% 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 $56,135, below the $68,874 of households that moved out.

At 2.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
523
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.6
Top 49% nationally
Year over year
+101%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
48.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024200k196k
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
−1.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
53%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$56,135
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$68,874
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Elmore County, AL 839 people · 9.6% of arrivals
  2. Autauga County, AL 491 people · 5.6% of arrivals
  3. Jefferson County, AL 269 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  4. Lowndes County, AL 262 people · 3.0% of arrivals
  5. Lee County, AL 254 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Elmore County, AL 1,118 people · 10% of departures
  2. Autauga County, AL 801 people · 7.4% of departures
  3. Jefferson County, AL 452 people · 4.2% of departures
  4. Lee County, AL 390 people · 3.6% of departures
  5. Lowndes County, AL 266 people · 2.5% 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 Montgomery County, AL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025503251
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+69%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.2 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MONTGOMERY AP, 8.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year572024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals51.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year422024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
42
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
57
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
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

57 / 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 58% of it.

TornadoModerate
Heat waveModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, strong wind, hail, ice storm, drought, wildfire, winter weather, cold wave, 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
645
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,906
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.

Montgomery's police department reported 645 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,906.

Montgomery County records 27.1 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 38.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 7.6 per 100,000 residents in Montgomery County.

Homicide
27.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
38.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
7.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.2
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 Montgomery’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 Montgomery (Montgomery County) rather than Montgomery 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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld) at 8 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year90.3%Top 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle8 miTop 19%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year7.4%Top 50%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM8 mi9,020 ft
Dothan RgnlDHN86 mi8,500 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM89 mi12,007 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
52
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Other cities in Montgomery, AL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PrattvilleAutauga County39,48266Prattville vs Montgomery
MillbrookElmore County17,18959Millbrook vs Montgomery
Pike RoadMontgomery County10,57465Pike Road vs Montgomery

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 Montgomery side by side with a similar place.

Montgomery vs TulsaMontgomery vs Sumter

Moving to Montgomery 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 Montgomery

14 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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
3611753,172$74,720$241,70056
3611645,250$55,160$149,500—
3610923,581$59,193$140,60051
3610814,766$33,291$73,800—
3610614,065$69,087$220,600—
3611012,102$47,315$86,900—
3611111,938$61,259$168,900—
3610410,535$33,823$172,700—
361059,207$41,486$82,400—
361078,001$32,492$80,900—
360433,239$73,571$195,80056
361151,255$63,672——
36113940$127,558——
36112633$75,625——