City · Chilton County, Alabama

Thorsby, Alabama

Thorsby is a city in Chilton County, Alabama, part of the Birmingham, AL metro area. It has 2,365 residents. Thorsby, Alabama has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,664 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alabama it ranks #119 of 319 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), effective property tax rate (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,664 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alabama: #119 of 319 in AL
Population: 2,365 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 405.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0176080

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety20#12,561/15,637
Economy53#7,312/15,631
Housing100#51/14,977
Health29#11,142/15,609
Healthcare6#14,634/15,650
Environment55#7,019/15,453
Education7#14,507/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,168/15,650
Community16#13,093/15,651
Leisure & amenities1#15,507/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Thorsby, Alabama ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Chilton 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 · low9.0%
100/100Alabama 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At most this value: the publisher's bottom bracket is open-ended
Effective property tax rate · low0.29%
97/100Alabama 0.37%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Rent-burdened households · low12.4%
95/100Alabama 48.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Social associations · high15.7 /10k
93/100Alabama 11.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChilton County value
Job growth · high2.4%
91/100Alabama 0.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataChilton County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Alabama 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChilton County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low31.3%
3/100Alabama 61.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChilton County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.0 /10k
3/100Alabama 3.3 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChilton County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.6 /10k
4/100Alabama 6.9 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChilton County value
Mammography screening · low33.0%
4/100Alabama 43.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChilton County value
Homicide rate · high11.2 /100k
6/100Alabama 9.8 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataChilton County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Alabama 6.0United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationChilton County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,941 (2015-2019) → 2,365 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
41.2% (2015-2019) → 12.4% (2020-2024)
−29 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
28.0% (2015-2019) → 9.0% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.5% (2015-2019) → 88.3% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
5.6 /1k (2021) → 2.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−55%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$58,295 (2015-2019) → $76,389 (2020-2024)
+31%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, Thorsby, Alabama improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved2

Rent / income−19 points28.0% → 9.0%
Broadband+16 points72.5% → 88.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Thorsby, Alabama between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.6 min2015-2019	34.6 min2020-2024	+2.1 min	Within the margin of error	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.4%2015-2019	17.0%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	72.5%2015-2019	88.3%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	82%
Effective property tax rate	0.37%2015-2019	0.29%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
High school diploma or higher	81.1%2015-2019	80.5%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	50%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3922015-2019	0.3742020-2024	−0.018	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$58,2952015-2019	$76,3892020-2024	+31%	Within the margin of error	58%
Poverty rate	12.8%2015-2019	8.8%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.0%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−19 points	Improved	98%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.9%2015-2019	9.6%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%

“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 Thorsby, Alabama five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Thorsby, 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, Thorsby, Alabama itself moved +3.3 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

2,365 residents (±596)

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

846 households (±171)

Thorsby, Alabama
Alabama share

Under $25k11%†95
$25k–50k23%†197
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

846 households (±171)

Thorsby, Alabama
Alabama share

Own72%612
Rent28%†234

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−9.1 points).

† 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

898 workers (±210)

Thorsby, Alabama
Alabama share

Drive alone77%689
Carpool9.9%†89
Public transit0.0%0

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 Chilton County, the county holding most of Thorsby's residents.

Chilton County has 806 employer establishments, 173 for every 10,000 residents (0.70× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Alabama's), with 7,784 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,638. The Census Bureau also counts 3,277 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 806; 3,277 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 173; US 248 · Alabama 207
Paid employees: 7,784
Average annual pay: $43,638; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	70	15	0.97×About typical	369	$73,293	419
Religious organizations	69	14.8	2.67×More than typical	320	$17,441	—
Ambulatory health care services	59	12.7	0.61×Fewer than typical	414	$57,367	66
Restaurants and other eating places	51	11	0.60×Fewer than typical	879	$17,052	14
Truck transportation	38	8.2	1.61×More than typical	226	$49,181	126
Limited-service restaurants	29	6.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	658	$16,210	5
Automotive repair and maintenance	27	5.8	1.15×About typical	101	$39,030	61
Gasoline stations	27	5.8	1.79×More than typical	261	$27,046	3
Building finishing contractors	25	5.4	1.41×More than typical	141	$71,227	117
Lessors of real estate	23	4.9	0.40×Fewer than typical	31	$36,484	176
Building equipment contractors	21	4.5	0.75×Fewer than typical	74	$51,108	88
Construction of buildings	21	4.5	0.60×Fewer than typical	52	$48,154	312

Rank places for an industry Open Chilton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 46,554 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 -$11.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Thorsby, Alabama: -$5.02 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$11.9K; −154% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$5.02; 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

ALABAMA ENGINE COMPANY, LLC-$11.9K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

23.5KFY2021
44.9KFY2022
22.3KFY2023
64.1KFY2024
22.2KFY2025
-11.9KFY2026

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

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

See federal money in Chilton 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.

Thorsby, 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.

Chilton County17100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Birmingham, AL41

Other cities and towns in Chilton 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/0176080

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends