Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fort Payne gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $205K, 4 years of the Fort Payne area’s $51K median household income. It grades C overall, 81st of 187 graded towns in Alabama. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 91% of the country, and the median household income is $47K, and 32% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, its public schools beat 82% of Alabama towns on state tests and graduation. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Fort Payne, against 16% in Alabama’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 22 of Alabama’s 308 towns score higher on hazard risk. Fort Payne has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Fort Payne Opera House and Alabama Great Southern Railroad Passenger Depot.
Where Fort Payne beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Little Ridge Intermediate School | 3–5 | 792 |
| Wills Valley Elementary School | K–2 | 738 |
| Fort Payne Middle School | 6–8 | 741 |
Census counts: 2,698 in 1890, a low of 1,037 in 1900, 14,877 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1946 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Fort Payne is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Payne, 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 Fort Payne.
Fort Payne pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, draws workers from Rainsville and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
12,341 jobs are based in Fort Payne, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.3 minutes, against 25.5 across Alabama.
51% of Fort Payne’s working residents work right in town. Fort Payne’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. Jobs based in Fort Payne grew to 12,341 in 2023, 2,482 more than in 2013.
| Fort Payne | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.2% | 6.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A− for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $205K.
Its public schools are run by the Fort Payne City school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Fort Payne High School, with 1,106 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Ridge Intermediate SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 792 | – |
| Fort Payne High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,106 | C+ |
| Williams Avenue Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK | Grades PK | 131 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Against the 4,827 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fort Payne’s, it is less healthy than 73%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
29% of Fort Payne adults say their health is fair or poor. Fort Payne beats the Alabama average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 18% of Fort Payne adults report frequent physical distress.
| Fort Payne | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 23% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Fort Payne | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 16.4% | 9.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.7% | 15.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.5% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
17 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Little River Canyon National Preserve, at 767 acres with 12.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Fort Payne | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Little River Canyon National Preserve | 12.8 mi | 767 |
| 2. Dekalb County VFW Agricultural Fairgrounds | — | 15 |
| 3. Williams Avenue School Athletic Facilities | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Valley Head weather station, 9 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 202 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 97% of Alabama places with climate records. January nights average 31.3°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 85% of Alabama places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.2°.
Fort Payne has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. No town among the 187 in Alabama we compare has a lower July high than Fort Payne. The January low in Fort Payne is 31°F.
| Fort Payne | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 86°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 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1992, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fort Payne.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Fort Payne home is worth about $205,000, up 3.6% in a year, 14% below the Alabama typical home.
| Fort Payne | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $679 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 70% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Alabama, it does better than 75% of towns.
| Fort Payne | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.1 per 1,000 residents | 17 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Payne
About 3 of every 100 Fort Payne residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
Where Fort Payne’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Fort Payne on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Fort Payne.
City in and county seat of DeKalb County, Alabama, US
Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. It is near Lookout Mountain. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877. This city developed around a fort of the same name, built in the 1830s to intern the Cherokee tribe who were being rounded up by the military before being forcibly removed to Indian Territory in 1838 on what they called the Trail of Tears. European-American settlers gradually developed a community around the former fort. It grew rapidly in the late 19th century based on industrial resources, and manufacturing increased in the early 20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, it still had 7000 workers in 100 mill…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Fort Payne.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Payne | #81 | C | A− | C+ | A− | D |
| Pine Ridge | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Valley Head | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hammondville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Pine Ridge, Valley Head and Hammondville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fort Payne with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Payne grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #81 of 187 in Alabama. It grades D for health, C+ for safety and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Alabama, it does better than 75% of towns.
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−.
16 notable people were born here, including Philip Ober and Thomas H. Cook.
