Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,696, settled in 1880. Public schools that outperform most of Alabama.
Trash & recyclingPiedmont gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $159K for a typical one, or 2.9 years of the Anniston metro’s $55K median household income. It grades C− overall, 115th among Alabama's 187 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. It reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, including 57 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 84% of the country. On the plus side, its schools outperform 92% of the state's. Piedmont’s violent crime rate is 12.2 per 1,000 residents, above both the Alabama town median (2.9) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). Southern Railway Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where Piedmont beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Piedmont Elementary School | PK–5 | 542 |
| Piedmont Middle School | 6–8 | 223 |
| Piedmont High School | 9–12 | 315 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Piedmont is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 381 in 1880, 4,787 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1967 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Piedmont, 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 Piedmont.
Piedmont pairs an A for schools with modest home prices and trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Alabama rate.
Violent crime runs at 12.2 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Alabama rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on that grade. Reported crimes rose from 85 to 119 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Piedmont’s property offense rate comes in at 13.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
That grade comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $159K.
The public schools here belong to the Piedmont City school district. The largest public high school is Piedmont High School, with 315 students. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piedmont Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 542 | A |
| Piedmont High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 315 | C+ |
| Piedmont Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 223 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Against the 2,531 U.S. towns with household incomes like Piedmont’s, it is healthier than 64%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
In Piedmont, 38% of adults have obesity. Among adults locally, 33% get no exercise outside work and 17% report frequent physical distress.
| Piedmont | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 43% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Piedmont | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.2% | 8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.7% | 7.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $159K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles.
Among households in Piedmont, 62% live in a home they own. Typical home values rose 6.7% in the year to September 2026. Its median rent stands at $842 a month.
| Piedmont | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $842 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 72% of U.S. communities. Households in Piedmont have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2021. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 58% come from inland flooding and 28% from tornadoes. This Alabama town has had 3 paid flood insurance claims since 1995.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 31.9°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 77% of Alabama places with climate records; July afternoons average 90°.
In Piedmont, the January low is 32°F. Snow almost never falls.
| Piedmont | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 32°F | 33°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Anniston (11%), Gadsden (7%) and Jacksonville (6%). Roughly one working resident in five has a job in Piedmont itself. Also worth knowing: its income of the median household is $41,000. Since 2013, Piedmont has added 60 jobs, to 1,248 in 2023.
| Piedmont | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest park or preserve is Sports Complex, at 33 acres. In 3 parks and preserves, walkers have 0.8 miles of trail. The trail density for Piedmont comes to 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Piedmont | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jaycee Park | 0.3 mi | 5 |
| 2. Sports Complex | — | 33 |
| 3. Talladega National Forest | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Piedmont
About 6 of every 100 Piedmont residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
4 notable people were born in Piedmont.
City in Alabama, United States
Piedmont is a city in Calhoun and Cherokee counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,400 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Piedmont grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #115 of 187 in Alabama. It grades C− for health, D for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Piedmont reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade: 57 violent and 62 property crimes in 2025.
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+.
4 notable people were born here, including Kenneth A. Roberts and Rick Bragg.
