Russellville, AL

Micro Area Profile

31,966 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Russellville, AL micropolitan area.

49out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 22% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity606th of 835 metro and micro areas measured39
Schools574th of 695 metro and micro areas measured24
Growth771st of 834 metro and micro areas measured21
Housing affordabilityTop 2% of 835 metro and micro areas measured89
ClimateTop 9% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
Physical resilience420th of 835 metro and micro areas measured54
Access630th of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Economic stability752nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured16
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 3.5% and the Opportunity signal places Russellville in the bottom 27%.

In the public schools here, 40% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.0 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 10 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 17 the year before.

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
31,966
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$53,338
Bottom 12% nationally
Density
50/sq mi
634 sq mi of land
Median age
38.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Alabama
Nearest major airport
HSV
62 mi · Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld
Median home value
$136,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5%, lower than in 77% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 2.5% over the past year, to 13,287 employed residents.

Median household income of $53,338 is lower than in 88% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$6,0562024 ACS 5-Year$53,338Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3512024 ACS 5-Year$26,381Bottom 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.7%Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.0 minBottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year15.8%Bottom 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.2%99th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,287Bottom 9%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.9%Top 36%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.5%Bottom 18%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,7669th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year71.6%Bottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%12th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Bottom 12%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.5%Top 23%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.51.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% 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.

40% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.0 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.0
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
39.7%
Bottom 22% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
37.7%
Bottom 22% in Alabama
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Russellville High SchoolRussellville City75314.847%47%
West Elementary SchoolRussellville City68616.7——
Russellville Middle SchoolRussellville City60019.443%38%
Belgreen High SchoolFranklin County58815.941%37%
Russellville Elementary SchoolRussellville City57618.046%33%
Tharptown Elementary SchoolFranklin County54113.548%35%
Phil Campbell Elementary SchoolFranklin County44116.342%47%
Tharptown High SchoolFranklin County41017.117%27%
Red Bay ElementaryFranklin County41016.4——
Phil Campbell High SchoolFranklin County38215.922%33%
Red Bay High SchoolFranklin County32215.347%45%
Vina High SchoolFranklin County25714.327%27%

57.0% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $433 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.32% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $776, some 15% above the $676 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $776 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $31,000 a year, about 58% of the median household income here of $53,338.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $676 a month.

A median home at $136,000 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $62,427, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
22.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$776
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$676
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$136,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Russellville’s median household income of $53,338, 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 to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.4%66th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±312024 ACS 5-Year14,00211th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$704Top 7%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$976Top 1%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$776Top 1%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$582024 ACS 5-Year$676Top 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,4252024 ACS 5-Year$136,00010th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$482024 ACS 5-Year$4331st percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,9552024 ACS 5-Year$62,427Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.32%2nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.8%Top 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1502024 ACS 5-Year36527th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%60th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.0%85th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3512024 ACS 5-Year2,04821st percentileof 9352024 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

21/ 100
Ranks 771 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 1% since 2020, to 31,874 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 10 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
10
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.3
Bottom 5% nationally
Year over year
−41%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202432k32k
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.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 58.7 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station RUSSELLVILLE 4 SSE, 7.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals58.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°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

54 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, inland flooding and cold wave, with tornado alone responsible for 36% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate
EarthquakeElevated
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, hurricane, inland flooding, ice storm, hail, drought, wildfire, 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. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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 Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld at 62 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.0%Bottom 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle62 miBottom 23%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.6%Bottom 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV62 mi10,001 ft
Golden Triangle RgnlGTR81 mi8,003 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM87 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
49
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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)
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
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
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
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.

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