City · Fayette County, Alabama

Fayette, Alabama

Fayette is a city in Fayette County, Alabama. It has 4,164 residents. Fayette, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,156 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #142 of 319 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), pharmacies (high) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on restaurants and bars (low), poverty rate (high) and mental health providers (low).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,156 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #142 of 319 in AL
Population: 4,164 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 487.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0125840

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.

Safety63#5,842/15,637
Economy2#15,384/15,631
Housing87#1,920/14,977
Health9#14,252/15,609
Healthcare23#12,040/15,650
Environment61#6,070/15,453
Education13#13,659/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,230/15,650
Community10#14,133/15,651
Leisure & amenities6#14,689/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fayette, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Fayette 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 · low0.20%
99/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Pharmacies · high3.2 /10k
97/100Alabama 2.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFayette County value
Rent as share of income · low22.6%
94/100Alabama 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Alabama 9.8 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataFayette County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low113 min
91/100Alabama 155 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFayette County value
Job growth · high2.1%
89/100Alabama 0.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFayette County value

Weaknesses

Restaurants and bars · low1.9 /10k
1/100Alabama 6.9 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFayette County value
Poverty rate · high42.0%
1/100Alabama 15.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Mental health providers · low25 /100k
1/100Alabama 156 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
Dentists · low13 /100k
2/100Alabama 49 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
Unemployment rate · high17.7%
2/100Alabama 2.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Alabama 3.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyFayette County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
65.3% (2015-2019) → 29.7% (2020-2024)
−36 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
38.2% (2015-2019) → 56.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
24.1% (2015-2019) → 42.0% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.9% (2015-2019) → 89.9% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
33.3% (2015-2019) → 22.6% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
8.2% (2015-2019) → 17.7% (2020-2024)
+9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Fayette, Alabama improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 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.

Improved3

Rent burden−36 points65.3% → 29.7%
Rent / income−11 points33.3% → 22.6%
Broadband+16 points73.9% → 89.9%

Declined2

Poverty+18 points24.1% → 42.0%
Uninsured+7.9 points6.3% → 14.2%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Fayette, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.4 min2015-2019	24.2 min2020-2024	−0.1 min	Within the margin of error	49%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.7%2015-2019	18.7%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	73.9%2015-2019	89.9%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	82%
Child poverty rate	38.2%2015-2019	56.4%2020-2024	+18 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	85.6%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.8×	Within the margin of error	33%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5482015-2019	0.6132020-2024	+0.065	Within the margin of error	11%
Median household income	$33,4722015-2019	$36,4732020-2024	+9%	Within the margin of error	16%
Poverty rate	24.1%2015-2019	42.0%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	1%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	33.3%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	94%
Rent-burdened households	65.3%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	−36 points	Improved	99%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.3%2015-2019	14.2%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Declined	5%

“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 Fayette, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fayette, 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, Fayette, Alabama itself moved +18 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

4,164 residents (±16)

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

1,580 households (±178)

Fayette, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k40%†633
$25k–50k21%†326
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,580 households (±178)

Fayette, Alabama
Alabama share

Own56%887
Rent44%693

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,156 workers (±244)

Fayette, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone93%1,075
Carpool3.6%†42
Public transit0.0%0

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 Fayette County, the county holding most of Fayette's residents.

Fayette County has 277 employer establishments, 173 for every 10,000 residents (0.70× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Alabama's), with 3,269 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,199. The Census Bureau also counts 1,046 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 277; 1,046 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 173; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 3,269
Average annual pay: $41,199; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	22	13.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	358	$13,640	13
Specialty trade contractors	16	10	0.65×Fewer than typical	40	$30,575	141
Ambulatory health care services	15	9.4	0.45×Fewer than typical	147	$52,864	29
Truck transportation	14	8.8	1.73×More than typical	31	$59,032	67
Limited-service restaurants	13	8.1	1.02×About typical	306	$13,141	—
Religious organizations	12	7.5	1.35×More than typical	73	$16,137	—
Gasoline stations	9	5.6	1.74×Too few to compare	64	$15,531	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	8	5	1.00×Too few to compare	44	$38,273	32
Other specialty trade contractors	7	4.4	1.75×Too few to compare	23	$30,696	47
Banks and credit unions	6	3.8	1.16×Too few to compare	32	$53,938	—
Building equipment contractors	6	3.8	0.62×Too few to compare	11	$24,273	30
General merchandise stores	6	3.8	2.13×Too few to compare	204	$31,632	3

Rank places for an industry Open Fayette County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,966 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: Fayette is mostly in Fayette County.

See federal money in Fayette 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.

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

House

Robert B. AderholtR-AL-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 3.0%

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.

Fayette County20100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Fayette 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/0125840

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends