Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Guntersville grades C− overall, ranked 108th of 187 in Alabama, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 77% of the state's and it has 31 miles of trail and 30% conserved land. On the other side, its police reported 27 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 85% of U.S. towns. 30% of the land in Guntersville is conserved, against 1.2% in Alabama’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Lake Guntersville State Park, at 5,874 acres with 30.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On civic life, just 20 of Alabama’s 258 towns do better.
Where Guntersville beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1765, comes before those of 98% of the Alabama towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 244 in 1870, 8,553 in 2020. The archive holds 29 old photos and papers going back to 1832 and 5 maps from 1936 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Guntersville is from typical.
Its best grade is an A for the outdoors (#4 of 187 in Alabama; 31 miles of trails; 30% conserved land), which describes the town but isn’t part of the overall grade; its C− comes from the livability subjects above.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Guntersville, 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 Guntersville.
Guntersville draws workers from Albertville and beyond, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Alabama and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Alabama.
Its 8,148 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Alabama towns. Its A for the outdoors ranks #4 of 187 in Alabama.
Guntersville’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile. 31 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Guntersville State Park | 30.4 mi | 5,874 |
| 2. Sunset Beach And Trail | — | 27 |
| 3. Guntersville Recreation Center | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Below: Three of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. The largest public high school is Guntersville High School, with 556 students. The public schools here belong to the Guntersville City school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guntersville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 486 | – |
| Guntersville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 556 | C+ |
| Cherokee Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 387 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
7,827 jobs are based in Guntersville, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
The share of residents in Guntersville who live below the poverty line is 18%, where Alabama’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. The average trip to work for Guntersville comes to 22 minutes. Jobs based in Guntersville grew to 7,827 in 2023, 545 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Albertville (15%), Huntsville (13%) and Birmingham (4%).
| Guntersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.8% | 6.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 384 to 234 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property offense rate in Guntersville is 22 per 1,000 residents. Within Alabama, it does better than 36% of towns.
| Guntersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Alabama it is less healthy than 58% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures.
Among adults in Guntersville, 16% have diabetes and 13% binge drink. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Guntersville is ahead of Alabama on 1 and behind on 5. For adults in the town, the share who say their health is fair or poor is 25%.
| Guntersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Guntersville | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.2% | 9.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A home in Guntersville typically sold within 95 days of listing. Values rose 3% in the 12 months to September 2026. For Guntersville, the median rent is $842 a month.
| Guntersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $842 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Guntersville weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 49 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 85% of Alabama places with climate records. July afternoons average 89.4°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 85% of Alabama places with climate records; January nights average 32.2°.
Snow almost never falls. Its typical July afternoon high is 89°F.
| Guntersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 32°F | 33°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On expected storm and flood damage, Guntersville sits above 59% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 2 claims locally since 2015. Expected losses in Guntersville break down as 46% from inland flooding and 33% from tornadoes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Guntersville after 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2015.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For Guntersville, the age of the median resident is 42.8 years. Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Population is up 9.8% in the town since 2020, to 9,394 by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Among residents here, 21% are 65 or older.
| Guntersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 23% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.8 years | 39.2 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women.
| Guntersville | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.9% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.5% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.7% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.2% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.3% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 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 Guntersville
About 3 of every 100 Guntersville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
30% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
7 places in Guntersville on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Guntersville.
City in Alabama, United States
Guntersville (previously known as Gunter's Ferry and later Gunter's Landing) is a city and the county seat of Marshall County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,553. Guntersville is located in a HUBZone as identified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Guntersville grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #108 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 36% of towns.
That is 4.8 years of the area's median household income ($62,571 across the Albertville, AL 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Joe Starnes and John Allan Wyeth.
