Town · Blount County, Alabama

Locust Fork, Alabama

Locust Fork is a town in Blount County, Alabama, part of the Birmingham, AL metro area. It has 1,402 residents. Locust Fork, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,814 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #261 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 mental health providers (low), restaurants and bars (low) and dentists (low).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,814 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #261 of 319 in AL
Population: 1,402 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 359.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 0143888

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety23#12,080/15,637
Economy19#12,729/15,631
Housing62#5,627/14,977
Health15#13,255/15,609
Healthcare5#14,837/15,650
Environment32#10,482/15,453
Education5#14,831/15,649
Infrastructure25#11,740/15,650
Community6#14,709/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,253/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Locust Fork, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Blount 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 · low0.24%
99/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Job growth · high2.1%
89/100Alabama 0.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBlount County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low132 min
80/100Alabama 155 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBlount County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Alabama 0 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBlount County value
Child care cost burden · low25.3%
73/100Alabama 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlount County value
Drought exposure · low21%
67/100Alabama 54%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAABlount County value

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low30 /100k
2/100Alabama 156 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlount County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.3 /10k
2/100Alabama 6.9 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBlount County value
Dentists · low17 /100k
3/100Alabama 49 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlount County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Alabama 3.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyBlount County value
Distance to an emergency room · high18.3 mi
4/100Alabama 7.7 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBlount County value
Primary care physicians · low20 /100k
5/100Alabama 65 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlount County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,478 (2015-2019) → 1,402 (2020-2024)
−5.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
6.9% (2015-2019) → 79.2% (2020-2024)
+72 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
14.4% (2015-2019) → 47.5% (2020-2024)
+33 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.9× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+95%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.7% (2015-2019) → 91.3% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
78.5% (2015-2019) → 85.0% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Locust Fork, Alabama improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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+33 points14.4% → 47.5%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Locust Fork, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	36.5 min2015-2019	33.5 min2020-2024	−3.1 min	Within the margin of error	80%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.1%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Broadband subscriptions	80.7%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Effective property tax rate	0.27%2015-2019	0.24%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	78.5%2015-2019	85.0%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+1.8×	Within the margin of error	6%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3962015-2019	0.4812020-2024	+0.085	Within the margin of error	7%
Median household income	$57,3442015-2019	$50,0002020-2024	−13%	Within the margin of error	2%
Poverty rate	12.9%2015-2019	18.7%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	14.4%2015-2019	47.5%2020-2024	+33 points	Declined	0%

“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 Locust Fork, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Locust Fork, 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, Locust Fork, Alabama itself moved −22.8 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

1,402 residents (±359)

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

530 households (±132)

Locust Fork, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k21%†109
$25k–50k29%†156
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

530 households (±132)

Locust Fork, Alabama
Alabama share

Own85%448
Rent15%†82

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

578 workers (±180)

Locust Fork, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone85%†494
Carpool7.3%†42
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 Birmingham, 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 Blount County, the county holding most of Locust Fork's residents.

Blount County has 777 employer establishments, 130 for every 10,000 residents (0.52× the US rate of 248; 0.63× Alabama's), with 7,402 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,199. The Census Bureau also counts 4,276 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 777; 4,276 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 130; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 7,402
Average annual pay: $44,199; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	98	16.4	1.06×About typical	454	$55,515	611
Restaurants and other eating places	54	9	0.49×Fewer than typical	817	$16,627	27
Ambulatory health care services	45	7.5	0.36×Fewer than typical	323	$53,638	106
Building equipment contractors	44	7.4	1.22×About typical	154	$54,019	142
Religious organizations	38	6.4	1.15×About typical	259	$21,811	—
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	31	5.2	1.57×More than typical	99	$53,384	84
Construction of buildings	29	4.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	106	$42,094	259
Limited-service restaurants	28	4.7	0.58×Fewer than typical	544	$16,300	9
Truck transportation	26	4.3	0.86×About typical	154	$46,708	168
Automotive repair and maintenance	24	4	0.80×Fewer than typical	92	$49,533	132
Gasoline stations	22	3.7	1.14×About typical	147	$25,633	4
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	21	3.5	1.11×About typical	131	$62,168	129

Rank places for an industry Open Blount County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 59,771 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 $4,987 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Locust Fork, Alabama: $3.56 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4,987; −15% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3.56; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$4,987100%

Top recipients

MILLENNIUM SATELLITES & VIDEOS, INC.$4,987100%

Spending by fiscal year

1.7KFY2017
3.5KFY2021
7.1KFY2024
5.9KFY2025
5KFY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies$4,987100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Media streaming, social networks, and other media networks and content providers · 5162$4,987100%

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 Locust Fork, Alabama, so they do not add up across cities.

Locust Fork, Alabama's figures are part of those of Blount County, AL ($1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Blount 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.

Locust Fork, 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.

Blount County12100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Birmingham, AL41

Other cities and towns in Blount 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
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/0143888

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends