35473 — Northport, Alabama

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 35473. Its median household income runs 14% below Northport as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 44% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 28% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured65
Schools1,655th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured47
Growth2,504th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured33
Housing affordabilityTop 19% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured78
ClimateTop 41% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured72
Physical resilienceTop 49% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured59
Access2,757th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured70
Economic stability1,684th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured52
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.1% and median household income $69,657, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Northport, AL, which contains 35473, rather than for 35473 alone.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.9 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 61 units authorized over the past twelve months, 38% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Northport, AL, which contains 35473, rather than for 35473 alone.

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
18,198
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$69,657
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
706/sq mi
25.8 sq mi of land
Median age
38.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Northport
Alabama
Metro area
Nearest major airport
BHM
52 mi · Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl
Median home value
$272,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Northport, AL, which contains 35473, is 3.1%, lower than in 91% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Northport, AL, which contains 35473, fell 0.8% over the past year, to 14,846 employed residents.

36% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 75% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsTuscaloosa County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,39312th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftTuscaloosa County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,40126th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,6952024 ACS 5-Year$69,657Bottom 46%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,9302024 ACS 5-Year$37,803Top 46%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year14.7%Bottom 31%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.9 minTop 24%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year36.1%Top 25%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year85.4%83rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentNorthport, AL’s figureJuly 202614,846Bottom 10%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Northport, AL’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Bottom 49%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Northport, AL’s figureJuly 2026−0.8%Bottom 48%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceNorthport, AL’s figureJuly 202615,3279th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.4%Top 41%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageTuscaloosa, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,150Bottom 6%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageTuscaloosa, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,220Bottom 11%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%69th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Northport, AL’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Bottom 25%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateNorthport, AL’s figureJuly 20263.1%Top 9%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%33rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202472k67k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $69,657 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 — Tuscaloosa, AL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators7,320$53,050
Retail Salespersons2,990$29,630
Cashiers2,660$28,110
Registered Nurses2,590$75,250
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,360$24,630
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive2,330$41,550

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 does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Northport, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.9 students for every full-time teacher across 2 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
2
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
44.1%
Bottom 38% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
45.7%
Top 50% in Alabama
All 2 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Flatwoods Elementary SchoolTuscaloosa County45914.827%32%
FaucettVestavia Elementary SchoolTuscaloosa County34314.967%64%

59.4% 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 89.1, 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 Tuscaloosa, AL Metro Area is up 33% over five years, but down 0.1% 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 $818 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.30% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,169, some 21% above the $967 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,169 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,800 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $69,657.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $967 a month.

A median home at $272,800 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $100,445, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
89.1

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 Tuscaloosa, 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
27.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,169
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$967
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$272,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 35473’s median household income of $69,657, 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 Tuscaloosa, AL Metro Area’s figure202389.1Top 8%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Tuscaloosa, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.1%7th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Tuscaloosa, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+32.7%18th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Tuscaloosa, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+68.5%12th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.7Top 50%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year59.0%15th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6562024 ACS 5-Year8,31480th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$972Top 26%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,490Top 22%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,169Top 24%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$662024 ACS 5-Year$967Top 46%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,3472024 ACS 5-Year$272,80063rd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$592024 ACS 5-Year$81813th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,1892024 ACS 5-Year$100,445Top 30%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.30%2nd percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%Top 46%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±532024 ACS 5-Year3255th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%38th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%25th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2072024 ACS 5-Year32464th percentileof 33,7722024 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

33/ 100
Ranks 2,504 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 61 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Northport, AL, which contains 35473, rather than for 35473 alone.

At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Northport, AL, which contains 35473, rather than for 35473 alone.

Units permitted
61
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.0
Bottom 37% nationally
Year over year
−38%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
44%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,393
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$57,401
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jefferson County, AL 1,004 people · 13% of arrivals
  2. Hale County, AL 389 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  3. Pickens County, AL 333 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  4. Bibb County, AL 239 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Shelby County, AL 220 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Jefferson County, AL 1,043 people · 13% of departures
  2. Hale County, AL 513 people · 6.5% of departures
  3. Shelby County, AL 370 people · 4.7% of departures
  4. Bibb County, AL 263 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. Pickens County, AL 239 people · 3.0% 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 Tuscaloosa County, AL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Northport, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 57.3 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station NORTHPORT 2 S, 3.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals57.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year22024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
53
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
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

59 / 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 49% of it.

TornadoElevated
Heat waveModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Inland floodingModerate
LightningModerate
HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, cold wave, ice storm, hail, landslide, wildfire, winter weather, drought, 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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.

Homicide
6.3
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.1
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 the county around 35473 (Tuscaloosa County) rather than 35473 itself. 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Northport carries the figure where its 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.
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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl at 52 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year90.0%Top 47%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle52 miBottom 12%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%Bottom 48%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM52 mi12,007 ft
Golden Triangle RgnlGTR59 mi8,003 ft
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM96 mi9,020 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
60
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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
HousingU.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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
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.

35473 vs Northport

How this ZIP area compares with Northport as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

35473
Northport
Median household income: Northport is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$69,657
vs
$80,913
Per capita income: Northport is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$37,803
vs
$38,638
Population density
706/sq mi
vs
1,733/sq mi
Median home value
$272,800
vs
$282,600
Median gross rent: 35473 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$967
vs
$982
Homeownership rate
59.0%
vs
62.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Northport is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
36.1%
vs
38.2%
Poverty rate: Northport is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
14.7%
vs
11.2%
Median age
38.9
vs
36.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.