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Alabama›Etowah County

Coats BendAL

A town of 1,630, settled in 1878.

Is Coats Bend a good place to live?

Coats Bend’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for walkability. 38% of residents are under 18 in Coats Bend, above both the Alabama town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Only 5 of Alabama’s 308 towns score lower on walkability. Coats Bend's public schools beat 74% of Alabama towns on state tests and graduation. Coats Bend has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.

A commuter town

100% of working residents leave Coats Bend for work

Where Coats Bend’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

35% → Gadsden Gadsden 35% 5% → Rainbow City Rainbow City 5% 4% → Birmingham Birmingham 4% 3% → Attalla Attalla 3% 3% → Huntsville Huntsville 3% 3% → Anniston Anniston 3% Coats Bend · 0% stay
3jobs based in Coats Bend
0%of working residents work in town
15 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How Coats Bend grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Coats Bend is from typical.

How grading works

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Getting set up

Moving to Coats Bend: who provides what

Coats Bend is unincorporated, so Etowah County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerAlabama Power17.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterNortheast Etowah County Water Co-OpNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers88% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesEtowah CountyEtowah County provides services here
SchoolsEtowah County School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Alabama you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereEtowah County Circuit ClerkEtowah County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2021
ZIP code3590135901 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Coats Bend.

HealthC−

Coats Bend is less healthy than 82% of U.S. towns

Coats Bend beats the Alabama average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 44% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Coats Bend, against 40% in Alabama’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 46% of adults have high blood pressure in Coats Bend.

18%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
Coats BendAlabama townsU.S. towns
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)44%40%36%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)46%43%35%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)16%15%12%
Obesity (CDC PLACES)42%39%35%
32 measures vs. Alabama
1 better29 too close to call2 worse
What stands outCoats BendAL
Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off7.9%9.6%
More adults who have had cancer9.9%8.2%
Gadsden Regional Medical Center
7 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: primary care

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−

Coats Bend has 0.0 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

18% of Coats Bend residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Coats Bend fell to 3 in 2023, 34 fewer than in 2013. Coats Bend’s average trip to work is 28 minutes.

0%work in town
Coats BendAlabama townsU.S. towns
Below the poverty line18%16%9.6%
Average trip to work28 minutes25 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$70,000$62,000$80,000

Where working residents work

In Coats Bend0%
Gadsden35%
Rainbow City5%
Birmingham4%
Attalla3%
15 mi
median commute distance
3
jobs based in Coats Bend
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C−

Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Coats Bend

Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 74% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Coats Bend since 1990.

74risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
74High riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
1
paid flood claims since 1990

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Climate

In Coats Bend, expect mild winters and hot summers

Coats Bend has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Coats Bend is 90°F.

90°summer high

Typical low → high °F

Winter34–55°
Spring50–74°
Summer68–89°
Fall51–75°
Nov 13
typical first frost
Mar 19
typical last frost
+0.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
90°
typical summer high

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

$155Kmedian sale price
1
homes sold in May

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Nearby attractions

Noccalula Falls Park and 6 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Coats Bend. Close and well known come first.

All 16 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Noccalula Falls Park: Thejammer (talk), Public domain · Little River Canyon National Preserve: Richard A. Weaver, CC BY-SA 4.0 · International Motorsports Hall of Fame: BWard 1997, CC BY 4.0 · Freedom Riders National Monument: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Janney Furnace Park: dofftoubab, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mort Glosser Amphitheater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Coats Bend

16pages on Coats Bend
After high school

Colleges nearby

1 within 15 miles of the center of Coats Bend

About Coats Bend

Census-designated place in Alabama, United States

Coats Bend is a census-designated place in Etowah County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, Coats Bend had a population of 1,318. A post office was established in 1878 and was in operation until 1903.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
8.6 sq mi
Elevation
617 ft

Coats Bend’s neighbors

One town shares a border with Coats Bend.

Explore the map →
Tidmore BendTidmore BendCoats Bend
How the neighbors grade
TownAL rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Coats Bend——A−—B+C−
Tidmore Bend——B—B+C−

Coats Bend and Tidmore Bend have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Coats Bend and Tidmore Bend report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Coats Bend with a neighbor →

Questions about Coats Bend

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Coats Bend, AL expensive?

Not for the area. That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($54,563 across the Gadsden, AL metro 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−.