Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sylacauga grades D overall, ranked 154th of 187 in Alabama, mostly because of health and safety. Residents are less healthy than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It reports more crime per resident than 91% of U.S. towns, including 54 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. It also has a long history, with 3 places on the National Register. Only 17 of Alabama’s 308 towns score higher on history. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Sylacauga, above both the Alabama town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). The median household income is $50K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line.
Where Sylacauga beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Hightower Brothers Livery StableEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Sylacauga is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 464 in 1890, 12,578 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 2 maps from 1890 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sylacauga, 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 Sylacauga.
Sylacauga trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, trades workers with Birmingham and other neighbors and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Alabama.
50% of Sylacauga adults have high blood pressure. Sylacauga beats the Alabama average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 19% of Sylacauga adults have diabetes.
| Sylacauga | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 39% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Sylacauga | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.1% | 15.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 26.4% | 19.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.2% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sylacauga City school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sylacauga High School, with 627 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Valley Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 477 | – |
| Sylacauga High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 627 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 421 to 349 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Sylacauga is 24.5 per 1,000 residents. Sylacauga reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 91% report less. The violent crime rate in Sylacauga is 4.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Sylacauga | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 24.5 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $161K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 30 miles. At 2.8 years of the Talladega area’s $58K median household income, the typical home (about $161K) costs less against local pay than in 75% of Alabama towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Sylacauga home is worth about $161,000, down 1.1% in a year, 33% below the Alabama typical home. 55% of households own their home in Sylacauga.
| Sylacauga | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $773 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Sylacauga 4 Ne weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 211 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 86% of Alabama places with climate records.
Sylacauga has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Sylacauga’s July high is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Sylacauga has about as many jobs (5,111) as working residents, but only 1,011 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Sylacauga for work: only 19% work in town. Jobs based in Sylacauga fell to 5,111 in 2023, 424 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Birmingham (8%), Childersburg (3%) and Hoover (3%).
| Sylacauga | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1995, 15 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sylacauga.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 18 of its 13,023 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Sylacauga itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.5 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Sylacauga | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Talladega National Forest | — | 10 |
| 2. Noble Park | 0.2 mi | 9 |
| 3. Central Park | 0.1 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Sylacauga; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Sylacauga residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
3 places in Sylacauga on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Sylacauga.
City in Alabama, United States
Sylacauga is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,578. Sylacauga is known for its fine white marble bedrock. This was discovered shortly after settlers moved into the area and has been quarried ever since. The marble industry was the first recorded industry in the Sylacauga area. Sylacauga is the site of the first documented case of an object from outer space hitting a person. On November 30, 1954, a 4 kg (9 lb) piece of what became known as the Hodges Fragment from the Sylacauga Meteorite crashed through the roof of an Oak Grove house, bounced off a radio, and badly bruised Ann Hodges, who was taking an afternoon nap.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Sylacauga.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylacauga | #154 | D | B+ | D | B− | D |
| Mignon | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oak Grove | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Childersburg | #137 | D | B+ | — | B | D− |
| Fayetteville | — | — | B+ | — | B | B |
Fayetteville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Childersburg and Fayetteville report no FBI crime data of their own. Mignon and Oak Grove aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sylacauga with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sylacauga grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #154 of 187 in Alabama. It grades D for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
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+.
17 notable people were born here, including Jim Nabors and Gerald Wallace.
