Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Ashville’s subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A− for history; the weakest is a C− for walkability. Ashville’s average trip to work is 36 minutes, above both the Alabama town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 18 of Alabama’s 308 towns score higher on cost of living. Only 22 of Alabama’s 308 towns score higher on history. Ashville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 86% of U.S. towns. Ashville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Ashville beats most towns.
Where Ashville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Ashville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 117 in 1860, 2,346 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1852 and 4 maps from 1889 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ashville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ashville.
Most working residents leave Ashville for work: only 7% work in town. 20% of Ashville residents live below the poverty line, where Alabama’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Jobs based in Ashville grew to 1,304 in 2023, 221 more than in 2013.
| Ashville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.2% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the St Clair County school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ashville High School, with 378 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 476 | A− |
| Ashville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 378 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Ashville tracks Alabama closely on all 32 CDC measures. 38% of Ashville adults feel lonely.
| Ashville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 43% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 12% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Ashville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Ashville’s July high is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ashville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The property crime rate in Ashville is 5.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Ashville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.8 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Ashville home is worth about $265,000, up 6.4% in a year, 11% above the Alabama typical home. 79% of households own their home in Ashville.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ashville Community Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Ashville; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Ashville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
4 places in Ashville on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in and county seat of St. Clair County, Alabama
Ashville is a city in and one of the county seats of St. Clair County, Alabama, United States, other seat being Pell City. As of the 2020 census, Ashville had a population of 2,346. It incorporated in 1822.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.
2 notable people were born here, including Rufus W. Cobb and John Grass.
