Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,621, settled in 1860.
La Fayette earns a D, 155th of 187 graded towns in Alabama, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $33K, and 33% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. One bright spot: homes are within reach, about $143K for a typical one, or 2.6 years of the LaGrange area’s $55K median household income. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in La Fayette, against 16% in Alabama’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 4 of Alabama’s 308 towns score higher on hazard risk. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 88% of U.S. towns.
Where La Fayette beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
3,003 counted in 2010 and 2,684 in 2020; an estimated 2,621 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far La Fayette is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,113 in 1860, a peak of 3,647 in 1980, 2,684 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers and 3 maps from 1907 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in La Fayette, 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 La Fayette.
La Fayette carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Alabama (mostly inland flooding) and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
Against the 875 U.S. towns with household incomes like La Fayette’s, it is less healthy than 67%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
34% of La Fayette adults say their health is fair or poor. La Fayette beats the Alabama average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 18% of La Fayette adults report frequent physical distress.
| La Fayette | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 23% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 30% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | La Fayette | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.9% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.3% | 8.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 18.2% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Chambers County school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Eastside Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 311 | C |
| Lafayette High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 182 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
At 2.6 years of the LaGrange area’s $55K median household income, the typical home (about $143K) costs less against local pay than in 80% of Alabama towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $361, against $788 across Alabama, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
La Fayette’s median rent is $645 a month. The typical La Fayette home is worth about $143,000, up 3% in a year, 40% below the Alabama typical home. 58% of households own their home in La Fayette.
| La Fayette | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $645 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 98% of Alabama towns, with expected losses of about $442 per resident a year; that rating is what its B+ for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in La Fayette is 29 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes rose from 21 to 77 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The W Pt weather station, 13 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 229 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 97% of Alabama places with climate records.
La Fayette has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 33° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
La Fayette has about as many jobs (937) as working residents, but only 114 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 1,269 in 2013 to 937.
Most working residents leave La Fayette for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in La Fayette fell to 937 in 2023, 332 fewer than in 2013. Only 5 of the 186 Alabama towns we compare have a lower median household income than La Fayette.
| La Fayette | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $33,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of La Fayette
About 2 of every 100 La Fayette residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
La Fayette grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #155 of 187 in Alabama. It grades D− for health, C for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Alabama, it does better than 66% 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−.