Town · Elmore County, Alabama

Elmore, Alabama

Elmore is a town in Elmore County, Alabama, part of the Montgomery, AL metro area. It has 1,517 residents. Elmore, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,908 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #186 of 319 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), job growth (high) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on dentists (low), rent as share of income (high) and poverty rate (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,908 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #186 of 319 in AL
Population: 1,517 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 241.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0123656

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety39#9,466/15,637
Economy23#11,992/15,631
Housing56#6,591/14,977
Health20#12,562/15,609
Healthcare7#14,561/15,650
Environment50#7,711/15,453
Education16#13,217/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,758/15,650
Community12#13,737/15,651
Leisure & amenities17#13,033/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Elmore, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Elmore 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 · low0.27%
98/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Job growth · high4.2%
97/100Alabama 0.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataElmore County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low107 min
94/100Alabama 155 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesElmore County value
Child care cost burden · low20.6%
93/100Alabama 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Median Air Quality Index · low34
88/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyElmore County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Alabama 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value

Weaknesses

Dentists · low13 /100k
2/100Alabama 49 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Alabama 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Poverty rate · high40.3%
3/100Alabama 15.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Mental health providers · low41 /100k
4/100Alabama 156 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Primary care physicians · low21 /100k
5/100Alabama 65 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Child poverty rate · high52.4%
7/100Alabama 20.4%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,137 (2015-2019) → 1,517 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
29.1% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
48.0% (2015-2019) → 62.7% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$32,386 (2015-2019) → $48,696 (2020-2024)
+50%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
8.3% (2015-2019) → 18.3% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateWorsening
31.2% (2015-2019) → 40.3% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Elmore, Alabama improved on 0 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Rent / income+22 points29.1% → 51.0%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Elmore, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.8 min2015-2019	25.1 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	33%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.3%2015-2019	18.3%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Broadband subscriptions	81.2%2015-2019	83.7%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Child poverty rate	46.8%2015-2019	52.4%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	19%
High school diploma or higher	69.6%2015-2019	75.7%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	64%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4522015-2019	0.4532020-2024	+0.001	Within the margin of error	50%
Median household income	$32,3862015-2019	$48,6962020-2024	+50%	Within the margin of error	85%
Poverty rate	31.2%2015-2019	40.3%2020-2024	+9.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.1%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+22 points	Declined	2%
Rent-burdened households	48.0%2015-2019	62.7%2020-2024	+15 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	21.2%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“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 Elmore, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Elmore, 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, Elmore, Alabama itself moved −9.7 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,517 residents (±407)

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

540 households (±179)

Elmore, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k38%†204
$25k–50k14%†78
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

540 households (±179)

Elmore, Alabama
Alabama share

Own64%†346
Rent36%†194

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

724 workers (±233)

Elmore, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone91%†659
Carpool5.1%†37
Public transit

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 Montgomery, 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 Elmore County, the county holding most of Elmore's residents.

Elmore County has 1,305 employer establishments, 144 for every 10,000 residents (0.58× the US rate of 248; 0.70× Alabama's), with 15,513 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,764. The Census Bureau also counts 6,247 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,305; 6,247 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 144; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 15,513
Average annual pay: $40,764; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	117	12.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	2,018	$19,166	22
Specialty trade contractors	102	11.3	0.73×Fewer than typical	721	$55,064	614
Religious organizations	77	8.5	1.53×More than typical	451	$23,459	—
Ambulatory health care services	69	7.6	0.37×Fewer than typical	660	$46,918	191
Limited-service restaurants	67	7.4	0.92×About typical	1,231	$17,066	4
Gasoline stations	62	6.9	2.11×More than typical	237	$20,017	—
Building equipment contractors	52	5.7	0.96×About typical	483	$57,149	154
Lessors of real estate	52	5.7	0.47×Fewer than typical	85	$40,271	547
Construction of buildings	51	5.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	247	$40,036	280
Services to buildings and dwellings	45	5	0.74×Fewer than typical	166	$38,127	686
Full-service restaurants	38	4.2	0.55×Fewer than typical	657	$23,029	11
Automotive repair and maintenance	33	3.6	0.72×Fewer than typical	164	$51,494	113

Rank places for an industry Open Elmore County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 90,478 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

In FY2026, an estimated -$607 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Elmore, Alabama: -$0.40 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$607; −102% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.40; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

RELIANCE RELOCATION SERVICES, INC-$6070.0%

Spending by fiscal year

48.5KFY2017
23KFY2018
1.5KFY2019
81.7KFY2020
223.5KFY2021
1.1MFY2022
7.9KFY2023
150.9KFY2024
33.9K

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Elmore, Alabama, so they do not add up across cities.

Elmore, Alabama's figures are part of those of Elmore County, AL ($178.4K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Elmore 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.

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

House

Gary J. PalmerR-AL-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.2%

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.

Elmore County42100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Montgomery, AL26

Other cities and towns in Elmore 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/0123656

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends