Metro area · Alabama

Tuscaloosa, AL metro area

Tuscaloosa, AL is a metropolitan area of 4 counties in Alabama, home to 281,850 residents. Tuscaloosa, AL metro area has a quality-of-life score of 22 out of 100 (low), ranking #718 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Alabama it ranks #12 of 24. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), unemployment rate (low) and suicide rate (low). It ranks worst on adult obesity (high), preventable hospital stays (high) and voter turnout (low).

22Low
Quality-of-life score
#718 of 925 metro and micro areas
Alabama
#12 of 24 in AL
Population
281,850 (2025)
Land area
3,493 mi²
Density
80.7 /mi²
CBSA code
46220

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Tuscaloosa, AL metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety23#714/924
  • Economy31#639/925
  • Housing41#545/925
  • Health39#562/925
  • Healthcare25#694/923
  • Environment47#488/917
  • Education58#389/925
  • Infrastructure30#647/925
  • Community11#827/925
  • Leisure & amenities23#717/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Tuscaloosa, AL metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

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.

Metro and micro areas like Tuscaloosa, AL metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tuscaloosa, AL metro area 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.

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).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

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

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

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.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Tuscaloosa, AL

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Tuscaloosa CountyCentral county30241,368
  2. Pickens CountyOutlying county1018,221
  3. Hale CountyOutlying county215,194
  4. Greene CountyOutlying county27,067

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. TuscaloosaPrincipal city111,038

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Tuscaloosa111,038
  2. Northport31,218
  3. Lake View4,063
  4. Moundville3,754
  5. Holt3,629
  6. Eutaw2,786
  7. Brookwood2,706
  8. Cottondale2,632
  9. Coaling2,573
  10. Aliceville2,211
  11. Greensboro2,135
  12. Vance2,105
  13. Gordo1,723
  14. Reform1,597
  15. Coker1,058
  16. Pickensville803
  17. Carrollton781
  18. Forkland660
  19. Macedonia441
  20. Newbern325
  21. Akron243
  22. Union212
  23. Boligee185
  24. Memphis56

Other metro and micro areas in Alabama

Areas based in Alabama, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M46220