Etowah County, Alabama Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Etowah County, AL Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below averageLess healthy than 76% of counties in Alabama
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D
Income Well below average
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D
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Etowah County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 103,105 | 5,083,438 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 188.0 | 97.0 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.03% | 0.62% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 43.4 | 38.0 | 37.3 |
| Households | 39,411 | 1,996,169 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Etowah County declined by 0.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 103,105 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Etowah County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 21.4% of residents. That is 1.4 points above Alabama as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 20,392 19.8% -1.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 19,748 19.2% -1.6 pts
- Gen X 45–60 22,029 21.4% +1.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 20,541 19.9% +1.9 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Alabama, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.6% of the people living in Etowah County and men 48.4%.
- Women 51.6% Alabama 51.5%
- Men 48.4% Alabama 48.5%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Etowah County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Etowah County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Etowah County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $54,845 | $64,544 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.93% | 4.68% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.9% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Etowah County is about 15% lower than in Alabama.
Housing
| Metric | Etowah County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $116,112 | $160,474 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $846 | $1,007 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 73.9% | 70.2% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Etowah County is about 11.4 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $846 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Etowah County spend about 41 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 173 hours, about 7.2 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Etowah County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 20.7 | 22.1 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 41.4 | 44.3 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 173 | 184 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,353 | $5,717 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 4.0% | 8.8% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,782 | 8,636 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,058 | 1,193 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Alabama:
Pike County (16.4 min), Houston County (18.3 min), Escambia County (18.5 min).
Slowest:
Blount County (33.2 min), Pickens County (32.5 min), Lowndes County (31.9 min).
The average commute time in Etowah County is 21 minutes, shorter than the 22 minutes in Alabama.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Etowah County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Etowah County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 16.4% | 24.9% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.58 | 2.48 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Alabama:
Madison County (0.4), Shelby County (0.3), Lee County (0.3).
Lowest:
Bibb County (0.2), Barbour County (0.2), Wilcox County (0.2).
Health
Etowah County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Etowah County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 72.5 | 74.7 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 23.6% | 23.4% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 22.5% | 22.1% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Alabama:
Shelby County (0.8), Lee County (0.8), Baldwin County (0.8).
Lowest:
Greene County (0.7), Wilcox County (0.7), Perry County (0.7).
Etowah County, AL Compared With Nearby Counties
Etowah County, AL is typical in size for this group, 103,105 residents against a local median of 94,166, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. The measure that sets Etowah County, AL apart most is median home price: $116,112, 33% below the local median of $173,275.
The counties themselves spread $155,838 on median home price, so Etowah County, AL sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Etowah County, AL has the 5th highest median home price of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etowah County, AL | 103,105 | $54,845 #5/6 | $116,112 #5/6 | 20.7 min #3/6 |
| Calhoun County, AL | 116,090 | $55,107 | $132,440 | 21.1 min |
| Marshall County, AL | 99,748 | $64,170 | $178,269 | 20.4 min |
| St. Clair County, AL | 94,166 | $77,657 | $214,627 | 31.1 min |
| Cherokee County, AL | 25,443 | $55,406 | $173,275 | 28.3 min |
| DeKalb County, AL | 72,266 | $51,236 | $58,790 | 20.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Etowah County, Alabama.
How many people live in Etowah County, Alabama?
About 103,105 people live in Etowah County, Alabama, in 39,411 households of 2.6 people on average. The median age is 43.4, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 6 years.
Is Etowah County, Alabama mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Etowah County, Alabama has 188 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 2.2 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Etowah County, Alabama?
The median home costs 2.1 times the median household income ($116,112 against $54,845), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $846 a month takes about 19% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Etowah County, Alabama?
16.4% of adults in Etowah County, Alabama hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 6), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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