City · Houston County, Alabama

Ashford, Alabama

Ashford is a city in Houston County, Alabama, part of the Dothan, AL metro area. It has 2,447 residents. Ashford, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 15 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,256 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #148 of 319 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), new business applications (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on violent crime rate (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and firearm deaths (high).

15Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,256 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #148 of 319 in AL
Population: 2,447 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 394.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0102836

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety4#14,929/15,637
Economy48#8,057/15,631
Housing87#1,953/14,977
Health16#13,124/15,609
Healthcare50#7,897/15,650
Environment12#13,636/15,453
Education7#14,548/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,739/15,650
Community12#13,816/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,574/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ashford, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Houston County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Effective property tax rate · low0.23%
99/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
New business applications · high24.9 /1k
96/100Alabama 13.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauHouston County value
Pharmacies · high2.9 /10k
95/100Alabama 2.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHouston County value
New homes permitted · high11.9 /1k
91/100Alabama 4.2 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Alabama 11.8United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationHouston County value
Child care cost burden · low21.8%
89/100Alabama 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHouston County value

Weaknesses

Violent crime rate · high652 /100k
3/100Alabama 348 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHouston County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high161 mi
4/100Alabama 51 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHouston County value
Firearm deaths · high26.7 /100k
4/100Alabama 21.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHouston County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.2 µg/m³
8/100Alabama 8.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHouston County value
Homicide rate · high9.2 /100k
10/100Alabama 9.8 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHouston County value
Loneliness · high39.9%
11/100Alabama 36.3%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
4.4 /1k (2021) → 11.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+167%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
69.9% (2015-2019) → 88.8% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,489 (2015-2019) → $65,341 (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
21.7% (2015-2019) → 15.4% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.2% (2015-2019) → 44.1% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
13.5% (2015-2019) → 18.6% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ashford, Alabama improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+19 points69.9% → 88.8%
Household income+47%$44,489 → $65,341

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Ashford, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.9 min2015-2019	25.5 min2020-2024	−2.5 min	Within the margin of error	75%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.5%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Broadband subscriptions	69.9%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	88%
Child poverty rate	21.7%2015-2019	15.4%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Effective property tax rate	0.27%2015-2019	0.23%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
High school diploma or higher	87.3%2015-2019	84.4%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	90%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4602015-2019	0.4252020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$44,4892015-2019	$65,3412020-2024	+47%	Improved	82%
Poverty rate	13.5%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.8%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	38.2%2015-2019	44.1%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Unemployment rate	3.3%2015-2019	3.0%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.4%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ashford, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ashford, Alabama in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ashford, Alabama itself moved +5.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,447 residents (±271)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

901 households (±87)

Ashford, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k18%†164
$25k–50k17%†154
$50k–75k23%204

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

901 households (±87)

Ashford, Alabama
Alabama share

Own74%663
Rent26%238

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+8.6 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,100 workers (±176)

Ashford, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone84%925
Carpool8.5%†93
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Dothan, AL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Houston County, the county holding most of Ashford's residents.

Houston County has 2,859 employer establishments, 263 for every 10,000 residents (1.06× the US rate of 248; 1.27× Alabama's), with 44,694 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,111. The Census Bureau also counts 9,003 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,859; 9,003 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 263; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 44,694
Average annual pay: $47,111; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Houston County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	263	24.2	1.16×About typical	3,512	$85,656	515
Restaurants and other eating places	233	21.4	1.17×About typical	4,935	$18,388	42
Specialty trade contractors	125	11.5	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,167	$51,668	558
Limited-service restaurants	119	10.9	1.36×More than typical	2,430	$15,977	13
Offices of physicians	104	9.6	1.48×More than typical	1,894	$110,986	104
Religious organizations	102	9.4	1.69×More than typical	926	$25,424	—
Lessors of real estate	92	8.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	413	$58,431	1,102
Full-service restaurants	86	7.9	1.03×About typical	2,216	$21,146	19
Gasoline stations	86	7.9	2.44×More than typical	429	$30,163	—
Construction of buildings	73	6.7	0.89×About typical	404	$58,693	241
Automotive repair and maintenance	72	6.6	1.32×More than typical	392	$48,867	143
Legal services	72	6.6	1.23×About typical	315	$70,917	82

Rank places for an industry Open Houston County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 108,726 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ashford is mostly in Houston County.

See federal money in Houston County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ashford, Alabama is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Barry MooreR-AL-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 2.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Houston County29100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Dothan, AL15

Other cities and towns in Houston County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0102836

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends