Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Newton’s subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A for schools; the weakest is a C− for incomes. Only 7 of Alabama’s 308 towns score higher on cost of living. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 73% of U.S. towns. Among 139 Alabama towns, just 1 have a lower violent crime rate than Newton. Newton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 95% of U.S. towns. Oates-Reynolds Memorial Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Newton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Newton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Newton Elementary School | PK–6 | 293 |
Where Newton’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 Newton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 469 in 1880, 1,607 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Newton, 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 Newton.
Its public schools are run by the Dale County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 293 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Newton for work: only 1% work in town. Jobs based in Newton fell to 100 in 2023, 131 fewer than in 2013. 15% of Newton residents live below the poverty line, against 16% in Alabama’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
| Newton | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 0.6% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Newton beats the Alabama average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 45% of Newton adults have high blood pressure, close to Alabama’s towns (43%) and above U.S. towns (35%). 13% of Newton adults binge drink.
| Newton | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 43% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Newton | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.4% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.8% | 13.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Newton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Newton is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1994, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Newton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Newton’s property crime rate is 7.8 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Newton home is worth about $253,000, up 2.4% in a year, 6% above the Alabama typical home.
| Newton | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $650 a month | $940 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 69% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.3 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is John Hutto Park, at 42 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. John Hutto Park | — | 42 |
| 2. Hero's Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Newton
About 7 of every 100 Newton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
Town in Alabama, United States
Newton is a town in Dale County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, Newton had a population of 1,607. Once the county seat of Dale County, Newton lost this distinction to nearby Ozark in 1870, and is now a small farming community. It incorporated in 1887. The city currently forms a part of the Ozark micropolitan statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Newton.
Newton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pinckard isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Newton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.