Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,426, settled in 1895. Public schools that outperform most of Alabama.
Trash day: look up yoursGlencoe gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $213K, 3.9 years of the Gadsden metro’s $55K median household income. It grades B− overall, 56th of 187 graded towns in Alabama. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Glencoe’s property offense rate is 4.6 per 1,000 residents, below both the Alabama town median (21.1) and the median of U.S. towns (14.1).
Where Glencoe beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Glencoe Elementary School | PK–4 | 397 |
| FBC Glencoe Weekday | PK–5 | 133 |
| Glencoe Middle School | 5–8 | 272 |
Where Glencoe’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 Glencoe is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 669 in 1940, 5,372 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2019 and 3 maps from 1947 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Glencoe, 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 Glencoe.
Within Alabama it is less healthy than 55% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures.
For adults in Glencoe, the share who have diabetes is 16%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Glencoe is ahead of Alabama on 6 and behind on 4.
| Glencoe | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Glencoe | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.9% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.9% | 9.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Glencoe High School, with 300 students. The Etowah County school district runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glencoe Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 397 | A |
| Glencoe High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 300 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Just 4% of Glencoe’s working residents have a job in town. The average trip to work for Glencoe comes to 28 minutes. Jobs based in Glencoe grew to 821 in 2023, 65 more than in 2013. Also worth knowing: the share of residents in Glencoe who live below the poverty line: 11%.
| Glencoe | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On expected storm and flood damage, Glencoe sits above nearly two thirds of U.S. communities. 46% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 36%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Glencoe after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
24% of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 28% across Alabama. Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 22% of residents (18% statewide). The age of the median resident in Glencoe is 38.2 years.
| Glencoe | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.2 years | 39.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 23% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.3 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women.
| Glencoe | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.4% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 17.1% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.9% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.1% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.4% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.3% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.8% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.9% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.4% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4 violent crimes were reported in 2022. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Glencoe's reported crime rate is well below Alabama's.
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
For Glencoe, the going rate for rent is $736 a month. Typical home values rose 4.9% in the year to September 2026. 82% of households own their home in the town.
| Glencoe | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $736 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Glencoe. Close and well known come first.
33 mi MountainCheaha Mountain
8 mi WaterfallNoccalula Falls Park
27 mi MuseumInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame
27 mi National PreserveLittle River Canyon National Preserve782K visitors a year
22 mi National MonumentFreedom Riders National Monument
12 mi City parkJanney Furnace ParkCheaha Mountain: Amann09 (talk · contribs), Public domain · Noccalula Falls Park: Thejammer (talk), 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 · Janney Furnace Park: dofftoubab, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Glencoe
About 4 of every 100 Glencoe residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
City in the United States
Glencoe (local pronunciation "Glin-ko") is a city in Calhoun and Etowah counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is part of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city incorporated in 1939. As of the 2020 census, Glencoe had a population of 5,372.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Glencoe.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glencoe | #56 | B− | B+ | — | B+ | C− |
| Gadsden | #168 | D− | B+ | D | C | D− |
| Hokes Bluff | #23 | A− | A | A− | B+ | B− |
| Southside | #25 | A− | B− | A | B+ | B |
Glencoe reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Glencoe with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Glencoe grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #56 of 187 in Alabama. It grades C− for health and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B+.
