Fort Payne is home to 14,927 people in Alabama. The poverty rate is 32.5%, above the 12.5% national rate. 17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, below the 36% national rate. Home values have more than doubled since 2000, reaching $157,000. Median rent is $679 a month. That trails the Alabama median by roughly 26%.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $47,479, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 37.4
US median: 38.9
Less educated
17% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 27%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Fort Payne
What changed most since 1990
Poverty rate14.1% → 32.5%(+18.4 pts)US over the same years: −0.8 pts
Hispanic share0.6% → 23.7%(+23.1 pts)US over the same years: +9.9 pts
Adults with a bachelor's degree10.8% → 17.3%(+6.5 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
Fort Payne's population equals 21% of DeKalb County's. Its number of people who work from home equals 34% of the county's. Its number of residents living in poverty equals 30% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)33.1%(208)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)14.2%(89)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era42.2%(265)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War0%(0)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II1.4%(9)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 628 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Fort Payne, decade by decade
Fort Payne population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
11,840
$49,245
$109,203
10.8%
15.7
2000
12,938
$61,135
$124,055
13.1%
41.2
2010
14,012
$55,437
$128,464
15.6%
54.5
2020
14,877
$51,148
$158,050
17.5%
62.3
2024
14,927
$47,479
$157,000
17.3%
53.9
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
