Town · Coosa County, Alabama

Goodwater, Alabama

Goodwater is a town in Coosa County, Alabama, part of the Talladega-Sylacauga, AL metro area. It has 1,445 residents. Goodwater, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 1 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,440 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #311 of 319 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), home price to income ratio (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), restaurants and bars (low) and new business applications (low).

1Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,440 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #311 of 319 in AL
Population: 1,445 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 222.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0130640

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety21#12,373/15,637
Economy4#14,945/15,631
Housing51#7,361/14,977
Health12#13,805/15,609
Healthcare4#14,967/15,650
Environment28#11,129/15,453
Education2#15,408/15,649
Infrastructure6#14,690/15,650
Community9#14,262/15,651
Leisure & amenities0#15,576/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Goodwater, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Coosa 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 · low0.16%
100/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Home price to income ratio · low1.5×
96/100Alabama 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077High uncertainty
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
91/100Alabama 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCoosa County value
Child care cost burden · low21.7%
89/100Alabama 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCoosa County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.338
76/100Alabama 0.479United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Alabama 0 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCoosa County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low4.1%
0/100Alabama 61.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCoosa County value
Restaurants and bars · low2.0 /10k
1/100Alabama 6.9 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCoosa County value
New business applications · low6.6 /1k
1/100Alabama 13.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCoosa County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low4.9%
2/100Alabama 28.4%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Math scores · low2.41
2/100Alabama 2.65United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCoosa County value
Mental health providers · low29 /100k
2/100Alabama 156 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCoosa County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,261 (2015-2019) → 1,445 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
34.6% (2015-2019) → 86.9% (2020-2024)
+52 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
40.5% (2015-2019) → 83.9% (2020-2024)
+43 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
48.6% (2015-2019) → 83.8% (2020-2024)
+35 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.5% (2015-2019) → 37.9% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$25,000 (2015-2019) → $39,511 (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Goodwater, Alabama improved on 3 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 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

Broadband+43 points40.5% → 83.9%
Inequality−0.1530.491 → 0.338
High school++11 points67.8% → 78.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Goodwater, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.1 min2015-2019	26.7 min2020-2024	+1.6 min	Within the margin of error	30%
Broadband subscriptions	40.5%2015-2019	83.9%2020-2024	+43 points	Improved	100%
Effective property tax rate	0.18%2015-2019	0.16%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	67.8%2015-2019	78.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	96%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4912015-2019	0.3382020-2024	−0.153	Improved	99%
Median household income	$25,0002015-2019	$39,5112020-2024	+58%	Within the margin of error	90%
Poverty rate	28.6%2015-2019	36.4%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Goodwater, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Goodwater, 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, Goodwater, Alabama itself moved +16.1 points in standing on average over the same 6 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

1,445 residents (±334)

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

633 households (±163)

Goodwater, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k29%†181
$25k–50k41%†261
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

633 households (±163)

Goodwater, Alabama
Alabama share

Own57%†358
Rent43%†275

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

334 workers (±115)

Goodwater, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone90%†302
Carpool0.6%†2
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 Talladega-Sylacauga, 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 Coosa County, the county holding most of Goodwater's residents.

Coosa County has 97 employer establishments, 94.3 for every 10,000 residents (0.38× the US rate of 248; 0.46× Alabama's), with 1,341 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,145. The Census Bureau also counts 524 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 97; 524 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 94.3; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 1,341
Average annual pay: $39,145; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	9	8.7	1.58×Too few to compare	20	$10,600	—
Lessors of real estate	7	6.8	0.55×Too few to compare	10	$18,800	37
General merchandise stores	6	5.8	3.30×Too few to compare	28	$22,536	6
Specialty trade contractors	6	5.8	0.38×Too few to compare	20	$50,450	63
Construction of buildings	4	3.9	0.51×Too few to compare	8	$52,750	33
Gasoline stations	4	3.9	1.20×Too few to compare	26	$23,423	—
Grocery and convenience stores	4	3.9	1.31×Too few to compare	42	$18,643	—
Restaurants and other eating places	4	3.9	0.21×Too few to compare	6	$69,167	—
Ambulatory health care services	3	2.9	0.14×Too few to compare	18	$70,944	10
Automotive repair and maintenance	3	2.9	0.58×Too few to compare	3	$14,667	12
Building equipment contractors	3	2.9	0.48×Too few to compare	14	$49,143	13
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	3	2.9	1.77×Too few to compare	339	$21,891	—

Rank places for an industry Open Coosa County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,289 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Goodwater, Alabama: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; 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

Spending by fiscal year

123.7KFY2017
99.7KFY2018
80.6KFY2019
30.4KFY2020
2.1KFY2021
23.1KFY2022
232.5KFY2023
289.7KFY2025

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 Goodwater, Alabama, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Coosa 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.

Goodwater, 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.

Coosa County4100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Talladega-Sylacauga, AL8

Other cities and towns in Coosa 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/0130640

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends