Is Hokes Bluff a good place to live?
Hokes Bluff gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $220K, 4 years of the Gadsden metro’s $55K median household income. It grades A− overall, 23rd among Alabama's 187 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 79% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. Only 2 of the 138 Alabama towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Hokes Bluff.
What makes Hokes Bluff stand out
Where Hokes Bluff beats most towns.
Typical home value
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hokes Bluff Elementary School | PK–5 | 610 |
| Hokes Bluff Middle School | 6–8 | 253 |
| Hokes Bluff High School | 9–12 | 371 |
96% of working residents leave Hokes Bluff for work
Where Hokes Bluff’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Hokes Bluff grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Hokes Bluff is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Hokes Bluff: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hokes Bluff, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Hokes Bluff.
Hokes Bluff pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Alabama norm, fares better on crime within Alabama than nationally and looks healthier within Alabama than nationally.
Hokes Bluff earns an A− for safety
At 8.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 95% of Alabama’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 36 to 26 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Hokes Bluff’s property crime rate is 5.3 per 1,000 residents, below both Alabama’s towns (17) and U.S. towns (9.9).
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Hokes Bluff’s schools rank ahead of 74% of Alabama districts
Its public schools are run by the Etowah County school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hokes Bluff High School, with 371 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hokes Bluff Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 610 | B+ |
| Hokes Bluff High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 371 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Hokes Bluff
Since 1980, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hokes Bluff.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Hokes Bluff has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The average commute for its 1,623 working residents takes 33 minutes, against 25.5 across Alabama.
Most working residents leave Hokes Bluff for work: only 4% work in town. Hokes Bluff’s average trip to work is 33 minutes, above both the Alabama town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The top destinations are Gadsden (32%), Rainbow City (5%) and Birmingham (4%).
| Hokes Bluff | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.9% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hokes Bluff has mild winters and hot summers
Hokes Bluff has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Hokes Bluff’s July high is 90°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Compared with most of Alabama and the rest of the country, the median age in Hokes Bluff is higher
The median age in Hokes Bluff is 50.5 years. Hokes Bluff has grown 6.2% since 2020, to 4,706 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 15% of residents are under 18 in Hokes Bluff.
| Hokes Bluff | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.5 years | 39.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.5 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women.
| Hokes Bluff | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.4% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.6% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.2% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19.5% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.5% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.7% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.8% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.3% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.1% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,700, single groups can be off by several points
Hokes Bluff earns an A for cost of living
Hokes Bluff grades A− overall with a typical home of about $220K, below the Alabama typical value; only 4 of the 22 Alabama towns graded A− or better can say that.
92% of Hokes Bluff households own their home. Typical home values rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Conserved land covers 0.5% of Hokes Bluff
Just 36 of its 7,704 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Hokes Bluff itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hokes Bluff Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Health in Hokes Bluff trails 50% of U.S. towns
Within Alabama it is healthier than 71% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with Alabama is tooth loss: 8.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.4% statewide.
Hokes Bluff beats the Alabama average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Hokes Bluff | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 19% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 43% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 40% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 12% |
| What stands out | Hokes Bluff | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.2% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11% | 19.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Cheaha Mountain and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hokes Bluff. Close and well known come first.
35 mi MountainCheaha Mountain
10 mi WaterfallNoccalula Falls Park
31 mi MuseumInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame
22 mi National PreserveLittle River Canyon National Preserve782K visitors a year
25 mi National MonumentFreedom Riders National Monument
16 mi GardenJanney Furnace ParkPhoto credits
Cheaha 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
Everything we know about Hokes Bluff
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Hokes Bluff
About 9 of every 100 Hokes Bluff residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
About Hokes Bluff
City in Alabama, United States
Hokes Bluff is a city in Etowah County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, its population was 4,446.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 12 sq mi
- Elevation
- 587 ft
- Area code
- 256
Hokes Bluff’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Hokes Bluff.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokes Bluff | #23 | A− | A | A− | B+ | B− |
| Glencoe | #56 | B− | B+ | — | B+ | C− |
| Ballplay | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Glencoe reports no FBI crime data of its own. Ballplay isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Hokes Bluff with a neighbor →
Questions about Hokes Bluff
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Hokes Bluff, AL a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Hokes Bluff grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #23 of 187 in Alabama. It grades B− for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Hokes Bluff, AL expensive?
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.