Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gadsden earns a D−, 168th among Alabama's 187 graded towns, mostly because of health and safety. Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its crime rate is higher than 90% of U.S. towns, with 131 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. It also has a long history, with 13 places on the National Register. 40% of working residents work locally in Gadsden, where Alabama’s towns sit at 9.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. On civic life, just 1 of Alabama’s 258 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Alabama City Library and U.S. Post Office.
Where Gadsden beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Alabama City Library| Widest gap | Gadsden | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.4% | 9.6% |
Census counts: 1,697 in 1880, a peak of 58,088 in 1960, 33,945 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 3 maps from 1959 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Gadsden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gadsden, 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 Gadsden.
Gadsden draws workers from Rainbow City and beyond, has homes that are cheap against local pay and fares better on crime within Alabama than nationally.
24 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Noccalula Falls Park, 294 acres with 7 miles of trail. The trail density in Gadsden is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Gadsden | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Noccalula Falls Park | 7 mi | 294 |
| 2. James Martin Trail Park | 0.4 mi | 20 |
| 3. Banks Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C, Rainbow City highest at B+.
Its public schools are run by the Gadsden City school district. Three of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gadsden Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 438 | B |
| Gadsden City High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,361 | C |
| Eura Brown Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 340 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its D−, from Attalla (D) to Rainbow City (C−).
49% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Gadsden. Only 7 of the 187 Alabama towns we compare have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Gadsden. 12% of adults binge drink in Gadsden.
| Gadsden | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 23% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 49% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 49% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Gadsden | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.4% | 9.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 31.6% | 19.2% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 15.7% | 9.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
20,459 jobs are based in Gadsden, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
28% of Gadsden residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Gadsden has lost 2,305 jobs, to 20,459 in 2023. Gadsden’s median household income is $40,000.
| Gadsden | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 28% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $40,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.2% | 6.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 50.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 78% of Alabama’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,493 to 833 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Gadsden reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less.
| Gadsden | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.3 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.1 years of the Gadsden metro’s $55K median household income, the typical home (about $115K) costs less against local pay than in 91% of Alabama towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Attalla is next at $144K.
The typical Gadsden home is worth about $115,000, up 4.5% in a year, 52% below the Alabama typical home.
| Gadsden | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $808 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 51% | 46% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Gadsden has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 33° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gadsden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gadsden. Close and well known come first.
in town WaterfallNoccalula Falls Park
38 mi MountainCheaha Mountain
30 mi MuseumInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame
27 mi National PreserveLittle River Canyon National Preserve782K visitors a year
26 mi National MonumentFreedom Riders National Monument
in town TheatreMort Glosser AmphitheaterNoccalula Falls Park: Thejammer (talk), Public domain · Cheaha Mountain: Amann09 (talk · contribs), Public domain · International Motorsports Hall of Fame: BWard 1997, CC BY 4.0 · Little River Canyon National Preserve: Richard A. Weaver, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Riders National Monument: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mort Glosser Amphitheater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gadsden
About 5 of every 100 Gadsden residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
13 places in Gadsden on the National Register of Historic Places.
55 notable people were born in Gadsden.
City in Alabama, United States
Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County, Alabama, United States. The population was 33,945 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 33,367 in 2025, making it is the eighteenth-largest city in Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about 56 miles (90 km) northeast of Birmingham, 90 miles (140 km) southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and 72 miles (116 km) southeast of Huntsville. In the 19th century, Gadsden was Alabama's second-most important center of commerce and industry, trailing only the seaport of Mobile. The two cities were important shipping centers: Gadsden for riverboats and Mobile for international trade. From the late 19th century through the 1980s, Gadsde…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Gadsden.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Attalla (D) is closest. Rainbow City next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Gadsden’s C) and lower for cost of living (C to B+).
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gadsden | #168 | D− | B+ | D | C | D− |
| Rainbow City | #94 | C | C | B | B+ | C− |
| Attalla | #141 | D | A | D− | C+ | D |
| Glencoe | #56 | B− | B+ | — | B+ | C− |
| Tidmore Bend | — | — | B | — | B+ | C− |
| Reece City | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tidmore Bend has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Glencoe and Tidmore Bend report no FBI crime data of their own. Reece City isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Gadsden with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gadsden grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #168 of 187 in Alabama. It grades D− for health, D for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 2.1 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 B+.
55 notable people were born here, including Yelawolf and Beth Grant.
