City · Montgomery County, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is a city in Montgomery County, Alabama, part of the Montgomery, AL metro area. It has 197,494 residents. Montgomery, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,500 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #160 of 319 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), drug overdose deaths (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on firearm deaths (high), homicide rate (high) and math scores (low).

14Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,500 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #160 of 319 in AL
Population: 197,494 (2020-2024)
Land area: 160 mi²
Density: 1,235.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0151000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety2#15,327/15,637
Economy17#12,930/15,631
Housing47#8,002/14,977
Health26#11,628/15,609
Healthcare39#9,564/15,650
Environment37#9,728/15,453
Education14#13,510/15,649
Infrastructure36#10,040/15,650
Community20#12,553/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,738/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Montgomery, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Montgomery 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 · low0.35%
96/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Drug overdose deaths · low7.6 /100k
91/100Alabama 16.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMontgomery County value
Social associations · high14.5 /10k
89/100Alabama 11.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.4 mi
87/100Alabama 7.7 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMontgomery County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Alabama 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMontgomery County value

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high38.7 /100k
1/100Alabama 21.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMontgomery County value
Homicide rate · high27.1 /100k
1/100Alabama 9.8 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMontgomery County value
Math scores · low2.33
1/100Alabama 2.65United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Child poverty rate · high32.5%
2/100Alabama 20.4%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Reading scores · low2.50
2/100Alabama 2.83United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Adult obesity · high46.7%
3/100Alabama 40.8%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.4 /1k (2021) → 2.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+82%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.4% (2015-2019) → 90.3% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$48,011 (2015-2019) → $56,811 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
86.3% (2015-2019) → 89.2% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 2.8× (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
51.1% (2015-2019) → 53.6% (2020-2024)
+2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Montgomery, Alabama improved on 2 of 15 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.

Improved2

Broadband+11 points79.4% → 90.3%
Household income+18%$48,011 → $56,811

Declined1

Price / income+0.3×2.5× → 2.8×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Montgomery, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.9 min2015-2019	20.7 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.8%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	79.4%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	64%
Child poverty rate	32.4%2015-2019	32.5%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Effective property tax rate	0.35%2015-2019	0.35%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	17%
High school diploma or higher	86.3%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.3×	Declined	59%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4962015-2019	0.4922020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$48,0112015-2019	$56,8112020-2024	+18%	Improved	30%
Poverty rate	20.6%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Public transit commuters	0.5%2015-2019	0.4%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent as share of income	30.8%2015-2019	32.3%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	51.1%2015-2019	53.6%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Unemployment rate	6.8%2015-2019	6.4%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.2%2015-2019	13.0%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“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 Montgomery, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Montgomery, 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, Montgomery, Alabama itself moved −1 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

197,494 residents (±57)

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

81,241 households (±886)

Montgomery, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k23%18,975
$25k–50k22%17,497
$50k–75k18%14,838

Homes

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

Owners and renters

81,241 households (±886)

Montgomery, Alabama
Alabama share

Own54%44,189
Rent46%37,052

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

84,515 workers (±1,612)

Montgomery, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone80%67,210
Carpool9.7%8,228
Public transit0.4%†319

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

Montgomery County has 5,584 employer establishments, 247 for every 10,000 residents (1.00× the US rate of 248; 1.20× Alabama's), with 103,653 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,713. The Census Bureau also counts 17,475 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,584; 17,475 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 247; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 103,653
Average annual pay: $53,713; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	452	20	0.96×About typical	6,561	$67,143	853
Restaurants and other eating places	421	18.7	1.02×About typical	8,226	$20,305	78
Limited-service restaurants	254	11.3	1.40×More than typical	4,432	$17,958	32
Lessors of real estate	225	10	0.81×About typical	1,281	$50,017	1,873
Specialty trade contractors	212	9.4	0.61×Fewer than typical	2,990	$62,413	706
Religious organizations	190	8.4	1.52×More than typical	2,135	$26,843	—
Offices of physicians	169	7.5	1.16×About typical	2,922	$87,193	153
Legal services	167	7.4	1.38×More than typical	1,428	$109,495	188
Gasoline stations	160	7.1	2.19×More than typical	641	$25,549	15
Clothing and accessories stores	125	5.5	1.53×More than typical	1,491	$17,719	217
Full-service restaurants	125	5.5	0.72×Fewer than typical	3,184	$23,322	27
Services to buildings and dwellings	117	5.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,756	$26,494	1,671

Rank places for an industry Open Montgomery County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 225,721 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 $957.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Montgomery, Alabama: $4,849 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $957.6M; −18% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4,849; US $1,994
Sole-source: 6.3%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; 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

Department of the Air Force$600.4M63%
Department of Veterans Affairs$283.3M30%
Defense Information Systems Agency$22.7M2.4%
Defense Logistics Agency$16.2M1.7%
Department of the Army$10.1M1.1%
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management$6.1M0.6%
Public Buildings Service$5.2M0.5%
Environmental Protection Agency$4.9M0.5%

Top recipients

DELL MARKETING L.P.$281M29%
AMERESCO INC$213.8M22%
EMERGENT, LLC$76.8M8.0%
REGAN TECHNOLOGIES CORP$28.9M3.0%
MEDICAL PLACE INC$22.2M2.3%
CHUGACH LOGISTICS AND FACILITY SERVICES JV, LLC

Spending by fiscal year

292.7MFY2017
271MFY2018
230.4MFY2019
563.4MFY2020
64.7MFY2021
493.6MFY2022
867.1MFY2023
1.2B

Top industries (NAICS)

Software publishers · 5112$286.7M30%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$230.6M24%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$213M22%
Facilities support services · 5612$31.5M3.3%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$26M2.7%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Montgomery, Alabama

PROVIDES AN UNLIMITED LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR A CORE SET OF ORACLE TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS, DATABASE PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE SUPPORT$419.7M
EMERGENT, LLC· Montgomery County, AL· IT & telecom· Feb 25, 2022 – Dec 19, 2025· FA877122F0022
VETERANS INTEGRATED SERVICE NETWORK (VISN) 7 ENERGY SAVINGS PERFORMANCE CONTRACT (ESPC)$305.3M
AMERESCO INC· Montgomery County, AL· Professional services· Nov 29, 2019 – Sep 10, 2026· 36E77620F0003
ACQUISITION OF MICROSOFT 365 E SERIES SOFTWARE LICENSES AND SOFTWARE ASSURANCE VIA THE NAVY ESI BPA TO SUPPORT APPROXIMATELY 720,000 AIR FORCE AND PARTNER AGENCY USERS WITH SECURE ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES.$280.9M
DELL MARKETING L.P.· Montgomery County, AL· IT & telecom· Nov 13, 2025 – Dec 11, 2025· FA877226F0001

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

Montgomery, Alabama's figures are part of those of Montgomery County, AL ($1B in FY2026), never added to them: 96% of that total.

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

See federal money in Montgomery 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.

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

House

Shomari FiguresD-AL-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 94%Missed 1.9%

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.

Montgomery County32100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Montgomery, AL26

Other cities and towns in Montgomery County

Largest first.

Pike Road4710,574

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/0151000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends