Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cullman grades C+ overall, 72nd of 187 graded towns in Alabama, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 83% of the state's. On the other side, its police reported 48 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 80% of U.S. towns. 33% of working residents work locally in Cullman, against 9.8% in Alabama’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 18 of Alabama’s 308 towns score higher on hazard risk. Cullman has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ave Maria Grotto and Cullman Historic District.
Where Cullman beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Cullman City Primary School | PK–2 | 782 |
| West Elementary School | 3–6 | 490 |
| East Elementary School | 3–6 | 466 |
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot
Census counts: 426 in 1880, 18,213 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Cullman is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cullman, 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 Cullman.
Cullman draws workers from Huntsville and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Alabama.
12 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Sportsman Lake Park, 130 acres with 2.5 miles of trail.
| Cullman | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Heritage Park | 2.6 mi | 64 |
| 2. Sportsman Lake Park | 2.5 mi | 130 |
| 3. Margaret Ingle Park | — | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Cullman City school district. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cullman City Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 782 | – |
| Cullman High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,014 | B+ |
| East Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 466 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
17,436 jobs are based in Cullman, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Cullman’s working residents works in town. 20% of Cullman residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Cullman grew to 17,436 in 2023, 2,195 more than in 2013.
| Cullman | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 6.1% | 6.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Cullman’s property crime rate is 26.6 per 1,000 residents. Cullman reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 80% report less. Within Alabama, it does better than 49% of towns.
| Cullman | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 26.6 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Cullman Nahs weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 204 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 80% of Alabama places with climate records. July afternoons average 89.1°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 89% of Alabama places with climate records; January nights average 30.7°.
Cullman has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Among 187 Alabama towns, just 7 have a lower July high than Cullman. The January low in Cullman is 31°F.
| Cullman | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 31°F | 33°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cullman.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 9,233 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cullman’s, it is healthier than 62%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Alabama it is healthier than 62% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures.
Cullman beats the Alabama average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 35% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Cullman.
| Cullman | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 40% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 43% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Cullman | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.5% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.9% | 13.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Cullman home is worth about $261,000, up 3.3% in a year, 10% above the Alabama typical home.
| Cullman | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $925 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Alabama average. Cullman has grown 13% since 2020, to 20,799 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Alabama.
| Cullman | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 23% | 29% |
| Median age | 40.8 years | 39.2 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 44.0, men 38.5.
| Cullman | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.6% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.6% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.8% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.2% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.8% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.6% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cullman
About 5 of every 100 Cullman residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
14,775 counted in 2010 and 18,213 in 2020; an estimated 20,799 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13.4% since 2020, after 23.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
6 places in Cullman on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Cullman.
City in and county seat of Cullman County, Alabama
Cullman is the largest city in and the county seat of Cullman County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 18,213, with an estimated population of 20,239 in 2024. It is located along Interstate 65, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Birmingham and about 55 miles (89 km) south of Huntsville.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Cullman.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cullman | #72 | C+ | B | C− | A− | C+ |
| East Point | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Good Hope | #27 | A− | A | — | A− | C+ |
Good Hope reports no FBI crime data of its own. East Point isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Cullman with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cullman grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #72 of 187 in Alabama. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Alabama, it does better than 49% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
17 notable people were born here, including Channing Tatum and Holly Williams.
