Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,332, incorporated in 1820.
Tuscumbia gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $194K for a typical one, or 3.1 years of the Florence metro’s $62K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 39th among Alabama's 187 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 82% of U.S. towns. On walkability, just 11 of Alabama’s 308 towns do better. Tuscumbia has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ivy Green and John and Archibald Christian House. Tuscumbia's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Tuscumbia beats most towns.
Ivy GreenIvy Green is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,214 in 1870, 9,054 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1837 and 4 maps from 1924 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Tuscumbia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tuscumbia, 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 Tuscumbia.
Tuscumbia fares better on crime within Alabama than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Alabama.
At 7.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 96% of Alabama’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
Tuscumbia’s property crime rate is 4.5 per 1,000 residents. In Tuscumbia, the violent crime rate is 0.5 per 1,000 residents, below both Alabama’s towns (2.9) and U.S. towns (1.6).
| Tuscumbia | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 17 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Public schools: the Tuscumbia City school district. The largest public high school is Deshler High School, with 488 students. Two of its 6 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| G W Trenholm Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 413 | – |
| Deshler High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 488 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here fell from 2,722 in 2013 to 2,089.
In Tuscumbia, the average commute is 23 minutes, below both the Alabama town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Most people who work leave Tuscumbia to do it: just 9% work in town. Also worth knowing: since 2013, Tuscumbia has lost 633 jobs, to 2,089 in 2023. 19% of residents live below the poverty line here.
| Tuscumbia | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,697 U.S. towns with household incomes like Tuscumbia’s, it is less healthy than 53%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. Within Alabama it is healthier than 53% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures.
The share of adults in Tuscumbia who say their health is fair or poor: 23%. Two figures for adults here: 14% binge drink, 15% have diabetes.
| Tuscumbia | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 43% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Tuscumbia | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.9% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.1% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
32 flood insurance claims have been paid in Tuscumbia since 1980. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 44% come from inland flooding and 14% from cold waves. Federal aid has come to Tuscumbia households in 7 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 30.4°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 95% of Alabama places with climate records; July afternoons average 90.5°.
It almost never snows. Among 187 Alabama towns, just 8 have a lower January low than Tuscumbia. Its July high is 91°F.
| Tuscumbia | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 30°F | 33°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes sold in Tuscumbia spent a median 33 days on the market. The typical Tuscumbia home is worth about $194,000, about the same as a year ago, 19% below the Alabama typical home. Its going rate for rent comes in at $748 a month.
| Tuscumbia | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $748 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Tuscumbia: 22% of residents are 65 or older. No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Alabama average. 9,332 people lived in Tuscumbia by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 3.3% more than in 2020. College graduates make up just over a quarter of adults 25 and older, against 28% across Alabama.
| Tuscumbia | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 23% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women.
| Tuscumbia | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.7% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.2% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.8% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.9% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.3% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.2% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Just 39 of its 5,899 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Tuscumbia itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.5 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Spring Park, at 20 acres. In Tuscumbia, the density of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Tuscumbia | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.7% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ivy Green | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 2. Spring Park | — | 20 |
| 3. Kirk Wallace Complex | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Tuscumbia. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumMuscle Shoals Sound Studio
15 mi ParkwayNatchez Trace Parkway8.0M visitors a yearin town MuseumAlabama Music Hall of Fame29 mi MuseumApron MuseumMuscle Shoals Sound Studio: Dailynetworks, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Natchez Trace Parkway: Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Tuscumbia
About 8 of every 100 Tuscumbia residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
Where Tuscumbia’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 places in Tuscumbia on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Tuscumbia.
2 towns share a border with Tuscumbia.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscumbia | #39 | B+ | B+ | A− | B− | C |
| Sheffield | #151 | D | A− | C | C− | D |
| Muscle Shoals | #49 | B | B+ | C− | A | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Tuscumbia grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #39 of 187 in Alabama. It grades C for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
7 notable people were born here, including Margaret Pellegrini and Wilson D. Watson.
