Underwood-PetersvilleAL
Public schools that outperform most of Alabama. A town in Alabama, home to 3,100 people.
Is Underwood-Petersville a good place to live?
Cost of living is its strong suit (A) — a typical home costs about $143K, 2.3 years of the Florence metro’s $62K median household income. Add schools to its strengths — its public schools beat 73% of Alabama towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 62% of the country. Hazard risk is weaker too — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 54% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. All told, that adds up to an A− overall and a rank of 24th of 187 in Alabama. On that grade it does better than nearly four fifths of U.S. towns. Underwood-Petersville has 2 places on the National Register. 17% of residents are under 18 locally, where Alabama’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 22%.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
What makes Underwood-Petersville stand out
Where Underwood-Petersville beats most towns.
99% of working residents leave Underwood-Petersville for work
Where Underwood-Petersville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Underwood-Petersville grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Underwood-Petersville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and 4 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Underwood-Petersville. Close and well known come first.
8 mi MuseumMuscle Shoals Sound Studio
9 mi ParkwayNatchez Trace Parkway8.0M visitors a year
38 mi National Military ParkShiloh National Military Park347K visitors a year11 mi MuseumAlabama Music Hall of Fame28 mi MuseumApron MuseumPhoto credits
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: Dailynetworks, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Natchez Trace Parkway: Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain · Shiloh National Military Park: Ernest Mettendorf, Public domain
Moving to Underwood-Petersville: who provides what
Underwood-Petersville is unincorporated, so Lauderdale County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Underwood-Petersville.
Underwood-Petersville is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of Alabama.
Underwood-Petersville has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Underwood-Petersville rose by 84, to 375. Just 1% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Underwood-Petersville: 7.4% of residents live below the poverty line. Half the trips to work are shorter than 9 miles.
| Underwood-Petersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For schools, Underwood-Petersville earns a B+
Its one school is below. Public schools: the Lauderdale County school district. Enrollment at Underwood-Petersville’s public school: 343 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Underwood Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 343 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
Underwood-Petersville has four seasons and hot summers
July afternoons average 89.9°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 75% of Alabama places with climate records; January nights average 30°.
The January low in Underwood-Petersville is 30°F.
| Underwood-Petersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 30°F | 33°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Older than Alabama overall
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (18% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide). 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Alabama. For Underwood-Petersville, the median age is 42.1 years.
| Underwood-Petersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 17% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.1 years | 39.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.9 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women.
| Underwood-Petersville | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.8% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.5% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.4% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 23.4% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.5% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.8% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.4% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 17.6% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.2% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.7% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.7% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 3.8% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,100, single groups can be off by several points
For health, Underwood-Petersville earns a C+
Against the 5,094 U.S. towns with household incomes like Underwood-Petersville’s, it is healthier than 79%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income. Within Alabama it is healthier than 59% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures.
The share of adults in Underwood-Petersville who have diabetes: 14%. This Alabama town beats the Alabama average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Underwood-Petersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Underwood-Petersville | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.9% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 15.3% | 19.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazards: moderate risk in Underwood-Petersville, mostly inland flooding
FEMA puts 31% of Underwood-Petersville’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 22% to cold waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median home in Underwood-Petersville sells for about $186K
At 2.3 years of the Florence metro’s $62K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 87% of Alabama towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
78% of households live in a home they own in Underwood-Petersville. For Underwood-Petersville, the going rate for rent is $820 a month.
| Underwood-Petersville | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 78% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $820 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Underwood-Petersville
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Underwood-Petersville
About 5 of every 100 Underwood-Petersville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
About Underwood-Petersville
Census-designated place in Alabama, United States
Underwood-Petersville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lauderdale County, Alabama United States. It is part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". As of the 2020 census, Underwood-Petersville had a population of 3,051.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.0 sq mi
- Area code
- 205
Underwood-Petersville’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Underwood-Petersville.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underwood-Petersville | #24 | A− | A | — | B+ | C+ |
| Florence | #92 | C | B+ | D | B+ | C |
Underwood-Petersville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Underwood-Petersville with a neighbor →
Questions about Underwood-Petersville
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Underwood-Petersville, AL a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Underwood-Petersville grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #24 of 187 in Alabama. It grades C+ for health and B+ for schools.
Is Underwood-Petersville, AL expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $143,000, 40% below the Alabama typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.