Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to University of Mobile.
Prichard earns a D−, 173rd among Alabama's 187 graded towns, mostly because of health and safety. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. Its crime rate is higher than 90% of U.S. towns, with 66 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: a typical home costs about $56K, less than a year of the Mobile metro’s $59K median household income. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Prichard, above both Alabama’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On walkability, just 29 of Alabama’s 308 towns do better. Prichard's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 98% of U.S. towns.
Where Prichard beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| University of Mobile | 1,761 |
Jacob Magee House| Widest gap | Prichard | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 24.1% | 9.6% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Prichard is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,580 in 1930, a peak of 47,371 in 1960, 19,322 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 6 maps from 1922 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Prichard. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi MuseumUSS Alabama
9 mi MuseumUSS Drum
9 mi MuseumBattleship Memorial Park
38 mi MuseumFort Morgan
8 mi Stadium & arenaMobile Civic Center16 mi Ancient siteOld Mobile SiteUSS Alabama: USN, Public domain · USS Drum: Jean-Pierre Martin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Battleship Memorial Park: Rennett Stowe from USA, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Morgan: Altairisfar, Public domain · Mobile Civic Center: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Prichard, 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 Prichard.
Prichard has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports more crime than Mobile and its other graded neighbors and has poverty well above the Alabama rate.
At 0.9 years of the Mobile metro’s $59K median household income, the typical home (about $56K) costs less against local pay than in any other Alabama town; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Chickasaw is next at $110K.
55% of households own their home in Prichard. The typical Prichard home is worth about $56,000, up 1.5% in a year, 77% below the Alabama typical home.
| Prichard | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $922 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Mobile County school district. Two of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| CollinsRhodes Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 537 | C− |
| Mattie T Blount High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,058 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
38% of Prichard adults say their health is fair or poor. Among 187 Alabama towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Prichard. 20% of Prichard adults report frequent mental distress.
| Prichard | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 23% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 15% | 12% |
| What stands out | Prichard | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.5% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 8.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 24.1% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
12 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Chickasabogue Park, at 330 acres with 6.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Prichard | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chickasabogue Park | 6.2 mi | 330 |
| 2. Highpoint Park | 0.6 mi | 12 |
| 3. James B. McDonough Memorial Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Mobile (D) to Saraland (B−). At 49.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 78% of Alabama’s graded towns.
Prichard’s violent crime rate is 3.5 per 1,000 residents. Prichard reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less.
| Prichard | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.6 per 1,000 residents | 17 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
136 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 136 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Prichard.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Prichard for work: only 4% work in town. The median household income in Prichard is $37,000. Since 2013, Prichard has lost 860 jobs, to 3,506 in 2023.
| Prichard | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $37,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 6.1% | 6.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Prichard has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 40° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
5 within 15 miles of the center of Prichard
About 5 of every 100 Prichard residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
22,659 counted in 2010 and 19,322 in 2020; an estimated 18,825 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
9 notable people were born in Prichard.
3 towns share a border with Prichard.
Saraland next door grades higher for schools (A+ to Prichard’s C−) and lower for cost of living (C+ to B+).
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Prichard grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #173 of 187 in Alabama. It grades D− for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 0.9 years of the area's median household income ($58,880 across the Mobile, AL metro 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+.
9 notable people were born here, including Kennedy Winston and Jerry Lott.
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