Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 16,123, incorporated in 1811. Public schools that outperform most of Alabama.
Trash day: look up yoursScottsboro grades C− overall, 106th among Alabama's 187 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 81% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 70% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $54K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $212K, 4.1 years of the Scottsboro area’s $52K median household income. 43% of working residents work locally in Scottsboro, above both Alabama’s towns (9.8%) and U.S. towns (8%). Scottsboro has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Public Square Historic District and Brown-Proctor House. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 69% of U.S. towns.
Where Scottsboro beats most towns.
Where Scottsboro’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 Scottsboro is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1811, comes before those of 96% of the Alabama towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 357 in 1870, 15,578 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1935 and 4 maps from 1936 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Scottsboro, 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 Scottsboro.
Scottsboro draws workers from Huntsville and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Alabama.
9,383 jobs are based in Scottsboro, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Since 2013, Scottsboro has lost 1,145 jobs, to 9,383 in 2023. 4.9% of Scottsboro workers work from home. The top destinations are Huntsville (15%), Fort Payne (2%) and Chattanooga (2%).
| Scottsboro | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 4.9% | 6.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Scottsboro City school district. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Scottsboro High School, with 727 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–3 | Grades 1–3 | 579 | B+ |
| Scottsboro High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 727 | B− |
| Collins Intermediate SchoolTop results in townGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 538 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Against the 7,096 U.S. towns with household incomes like Scottsboro’s, it is less healthy than 63%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
46% of adults have high blood pressure in Scottsboro. Scottsboro beats the Alabama average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 16% of adults have diabetes in Scottsboro.
| Scottsboro | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Scottsboro | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.2% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9.7 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is North Sauty Refuge, at 1,247 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jackson County Park | 0.9 mi | 40 |
| 2. King Caldwell Park | 0.8 mi | 20 |
| 3. North Sauty Refuge | — | 1,247 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Scottsboro weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 209 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 92% of Alabama places with climate records. The Scottsboro weather station records that about 57 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 76% of Alabama places with climate records.
Scottsboro has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Scottsboro’s July high is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 29 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Scottsboro.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (18% statewide). Scottsboro has grown 3.4% since 2020, to 16,123 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Alabama.
| Scottsboro | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 23% | 29% |
| Median age | 41.2 years | 39.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 23% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.3 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women.
| Scottsboro | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.2% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.8% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.3% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.4% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.5% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.7% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.9% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Scottsboro's reported crime rate is above Alabama's. The property crime rate in Scottsboro is 21.9 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Scottsboro | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.9 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Scottsboro home is worth about $212,000, up 1.1% in a year, 11% below the Alabama typical home.
| Scottsboro | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $830 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 70% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Scottsboro
About 6 of every 100 Scottsboro residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
4 places in Scottsboro on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Scottsboro.
City in Alabama, United States
Scottsboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Alabama, United States. The city was named for its founder Robert T. Scott. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 15,578. From its incorporation in 1870 until 1890, it was the largest community in Jackson County, losing the distinction from 1900 to 1920 to Bridgeport, but reclaiming the title in 1930 and holding it since that time. It is 30 miles each from the state boundaries of Georgia to the east (Dade County) and Tennessee to the north, about 45 miles from Huntsville, Alabama to the west and about 55 miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee to the northeast. The city was the namesake of the Scottsboro Boys case, whic…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Scottsboro.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottsboro | #106 | C− | B− | — | B+ | C− |
| Hollywood | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Scottsboro reports no FBI crime data of its own. Hollywood isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Scottsboro with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Scottsboro grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #106 of 187 in Alabama. It grades C− for health and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
8 notable people were born here, including John Allen Chau and Lucille Benson.
