Town · Lauderdale County, Alabama

Killen, Alabama

Killen is a town in Lauderdale County, Alabama, part of the Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL metro area. It has 1,150 residents. Killen, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 35 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,196 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #58 of 319 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), rent-burdened households (low) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), average weekly wage (low) and hospital quality rating (low).

35Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,196 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #58 of 319 in AL
Population: 1,150 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 568.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0139784

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.

Safety32#10,642/15,637
Economy49#8,021/15,631
Housing100#61/14,977
Health42#9,112/15,609
Healthcare44#8,753/15,650
Environment45#8,533/15,453
Education26#11,610/15,649
Infrastructure16#13,206/15,650
Community16#13,117/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,783/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Killen, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lauderdale 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

Rent as share of income · low18.9%
95/100Alabama 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low18.3%
95/100Alabama 48.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Pharmacies · high2.7 /10k
92/100Alabama 2.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLauderdale County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.45%
91/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.353
88/100Alabama 0.479United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Alabama 6.0United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLauderdale County value

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low80.7%
7/100Alabama 87.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Average weekly wage · low$932
9/100Alabama $1,240United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLauderdale County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Alabama 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLauderdale County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high104 mi
9/100Alabama 51 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLauderdale County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low52.7%
13/100Alabama 61.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLauderdale County value
Mammography screening · low38.0%
13/100Alabama 43.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLauderdale County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,263 (2015-2019) → 1,150 (2020-2024)
−8.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
33.1% (2015-2019) → 18.3% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
95.0% (2015-2019) → 89.3% (2020-2024)
−5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$54,286 (2015-2019) → $69,722 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
9.5% (2015-2019) → 5.1% (2020-2024)
−4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.4% (2015-2019) → 80.7% (2020-2024)
+4.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Killen, Alabama improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved1

Household income+28%$54,286 → $69,722

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Killen, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.8 min2015-2019	24.5 min2020-2024	−2.3 min	Within the margin of error	74%
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.3%2015-2019	20.1%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	76.4%2015-2019	80.7%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	0.37%2015-2019	0.45%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	95.0%2015-2019	89.3%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3402015-2019	0.3532020-2024	+0.013	Within the margin of error	39%
Median household income	$54,2862015-2019	$69,7222020-2024	+28%	Improved	52%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.2%2015-2019	18.9%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	76%

“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 Killen, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Killen, 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, Killen, Alabama itself moved −6.7 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

1,150 residents (±321)

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

430 households (±103)

Killen, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k12%†52
$25k–50k16%†70
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

430 households (±103)

Killen, Alabama
Alabama share

Own69%296
Rent31%†134

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

478 workers (±149)

Killen, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone82%†393
Carpool10%†50
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 Florence-Muscle Shoals, 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 Lauderdale County, the county holding most of Killen's residents.

Lauderdale County has 2,053 employer establishments, 212 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Alabama's), with 27,193 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,635. The Census Bureau also counts 7,496 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,053; 7,496 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 212; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 27,193
Average annual pay: $40,635; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	198	20.5	0.98×About typical	2,439	$54,881	291
Restaurants and other eating places	179	18.5	1.01×About typical	3,775	$18,825	24
Specialty trade contractors	111	11.5	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,165	$56,243	678
Religious organizations	106	11	1.97×More than typical	712	$19,371	—
Lessors of real estate	94	9.7	0.79×Fewer than typical	332	$39,443	895
Limited-service restaurants	86	8.9	1.11×About typical	1,736	$17,026	9
Full-service restaurants	69	7.1	0.93×About typical	1,795	$20,199	9
Offices of physicians	69	7.1	1.10×About typical	691	$79,281	79
Offices of other health practitioners	62	6.4	1.05×About typical	437	$44,961	126
Banks and credit unions	56	5.8	1.79×More than typical	592	$66,811	—
Building equipment contractors	54	5.6	0.93×About typical	725	$54,476	111
Insurance agencies and brokerages	52	5.4	1.22×About typical	247	$53,077	153

Rank places for an industry Open Lauderdale County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 96,794 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 Killen, Alabama: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

550.6FY2017
0FY2019
1.1KFY2023

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

Killen, Alabama's figures are part of those of Lauderdale County, AL ($1.7M 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: Killen is mostly in Lauderdale County.

See federal money in Lauderdale 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.

Killen, Alabama is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Lauderdale County42100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL37

Other cities and towns in Lauderdale 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/0139784

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends