CensusEasy
COUNTY

Etowah County

Alabama · 103,886 residents (2025 est.) · 535 sq mi
Time machine
COMPARE TO
Part of the Gadsden metro area
Compare
The short version

With 103,105 people, Etowah County is a county in Alabama. Four-year degrees are less common here than nationally, at 18% of adults. The typical home is worth $167,100, having more than doubled since 2000. The foreign-born share is 2%. 74% of homes are owner-occupied. Median rent is $847 a month.

At a glance
Lower income
below the US median
US median: $82,259
Older
median age 41.7
US median: 38.9
Less educated
18% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 38%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Section 01

Population & growth

Total population
103,105
Unchangedsince 2000
from 103,459 in 2000
103,886 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimate)
1990 – 2025
Population density
193 / sq mi
Unchangedsince 2009
from 193 / sq mi in 2009
US average: 281
Median age
41.7
+9%since 2000
from 38.3 in 2000
US average: 38.9
Land area
535 sq mi
Population, 1990 – 2024
99K101K102K104K105K19902000201020202024Etowah County
2024103K
1990201020202024
Age distribution, 2024
Under 55.7%(5,907)
US avg: 5.6%
5 to 95.8%(5,995)
US avg: 6%
10 to 146.4%(6,586)
US avg: 6.4%
15 to 195.8%(6,021)
US avg: 6.6%
20 to 245.9%(6,115)
US avg: 6.5%
25 to 3412.2%(12,554)
US avg: 13.7%
35 to 4411.7%(12,075)
US avg: 13.2%
45 to 5413.4%(13,819)
US avg: 12.2%
55 to 6413.3%(13,693)
US avg: 12.7%
65 to 7412.1%(12,426)
US avg: 10.2%
75 to 845.9%(6,110)
US avg: 5.1%
85 and over1.7%(1,804)
US avg: 1.9%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 02

Income & economy

Median household income
$54,563
−4%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $31,170 in 2000
US average: $82,259
1990 – 2024
Per capita income
$29,604
+76%since 2000
from $16,783 in 2000
US average: $44,673
Households earning $100K+
35.0%
+15.2 ptssince 2009
from 19.8% in 2009
US average: 53.3%
Poverty rate
16.9%
+1.2 ptssince 2000
from 15.7% in 2000
US average: 12.5%
Income inequality (Gini)
0.462
+2%since 2010
from 0.453 in 2010
US average: 0.476
Workforce by industry, 2024
Retail trade17%
US avg: 9.9%
Information13.3%
US avg: 10.8%
Wholesale trade7.8%
US avg: 6.9%
Finance & insurance4.4%
US avg: 5.9%
Professional, scientific, technical4%
US avg: 5.1%
Other services3.8%
US avg: 6.7%
Public administration2.8%
US avg: 4.8%
Transportation & warehousing2.3%
US avg: 2.2%
Arts, entertainment, food1.2%
US avg: 1.9%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing1.1%
US avg: 1.6%
Construction1%
US avg: 1.2%
Education & health services0.4%
US avg: 0.9%
Manufacturing0.2%
US avg: 0.4%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 03

Housing

Median home value
$167,100
+38%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $66,500 in 2000
US average: $376,019
1990 – 2024
Median gross rent
$847
+18%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $395 in 2000
US average: $1,442
Owner-occupied
73.9%
−0.5 ptssince 2000
from 74.4% in 2000
26.1% rent
Vacancy rate
17.2%
+5.6 ptssince 2009
from 11.6% in 2009
US average: 10.0%
Persons per household
2.58 people
+9%since 2009
from 2.37 people in 2009
US average: 2.54
Owner cost-burdened
18.7%
−3.0 ptssince 2009
from 21.7% in 2009
US average: 22.9%
Renter cost-burdened
41.4%
+5.1 ptssince 2009
from 36.3% in 2009
US average: 47.4%
Afford Score
3.1
+17%since 2009
from 2.6 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Years of local income it takes to buy a local home, on a scale of about 0 to 15. Lower is more affordable.
Gentrification Score
35
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means faster recent growth in incomes, home values, and college degrees.
Section 04

Race & ethnicity

2000
White, non-Hispanic82.1%(84,919)
Black14.6%(15,120)
Hispanic / Latino1.7%(1,763)
Asian0.4%(428)
Other0%
2024
White, non-Hispanic76.2%(78,534)
Black14.7%(15,165)
Hispanic / Latino5.2%(5,393)
Asian0.7%(675)
Other3.2%(3,338)
Diversity Score
49
+20%since 2009
from 41 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means a more even mix of racial and ethnic groups.
Segregation Score
54
−5%since 2020
from 56 in 2020
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means White and non-White residents are more separated across neighborhoods.
Section 04 · Origins

Detailed origins & ancestry

Hispanic origin
Mexican2.7%(2,788)
Central American1.4%(1,495)
Guatemalan1.1%(1,090)
Puerto Rican0.4%(448)
Honduran0.2%(221)
Salvadoran0.1%(146)
Colombian0.1%(144)
Cuban0.1%(103)
Dominican0%(28)
Spaniard0%(28)
+ 1 more hispanic origin group with data
Asian origin
Filipino0.2%(211)
Asian Indian0.2%(176)
Vietnamese0.1%(127)
Japanese0.1%(59)
Chinese0%(48)
Korean0%(28)
Nepalese0%(26)
Pacific Islander origin
Samoan0%(6)
Ancestry
American13.4%(13,814)
English11.6%(11,988)
Irish8.2%(8,486)
German4.5%(4,592)
Scottish1.8%(1,838)
Italian1.5%(1,558)
Scotch-Irish0.8%(860)
French0.7%(734)
Dutch0.7%(700)
Polish0.4%(403)
Welsh0.3%(340)
+ 33 more ancestry groups with data
Swedish0.3%(306)
British0.2%(157)
Norwegian0.1%(154)
Arab0.1%(126)
Ukrainian0.1%(83)
Canadian0.1%(75)
West Indian0.1%(73)
Portuguese0.1%(60)
Russian0%(44)
Austrian0%(43)
Danish0%(43)
Syrian0%(40)
Hungarian0%(39)
Romanian0%(27)
Belgian0%(25)
Finnish0%(22)
Lebanese0%(21)
Nigerian0%(15)
Latvian0%(14)
Ethiopian0%(13)
Iranian0%(12)
Slovak0%(11)
Swiss0%(9)
Greek0%(8)
Israeli0%(8)
Czech0%(7)
Slovene0%(7)
Section 05

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher
18.1%
+4.7 ptssince 2000
from 13.4% in 2000
US average: 35.6%
High school or higher
86.1%
+12.0 ptssince 2000
from 74.1% in 2000
US average: 89.6%
Graduate degree
6.9%
+1.6 ptssince 2000
from 5.3% in 2000
US average: 14.0%
Section 06

Commute & transportation

Average commute
25.5 min
+57%since 2000
from 16.3 min in 2000
US average: 26.5
Drive alone to work
86.5%
+2.6 ptssince 2009
from 83.9% in 2009
US average: 68.9%
Carpooled to work
7.2%
−4.3 ptssince 2009
from 11.5% in 2009
US average: 8.5%
Public transit
0.3%
+0.1 ptssince 2009
from 0.1% in 2009
US average: 3.2%
Worked from home
4.0%
+1.0 ptssince 2009
from 3.0% in 2009
US average: 15.0%
Walked to work
0.8%
−0.2 ptssince 2009
from 1.0% in 2009
US average: 2.4%
Biked to work
0.0%
Unchangedsince 2009
from 0.0% in 2009
US average: 0.4%
No vehicle available
4.4%
−1.0 ptssince 2009
from 5.4% in 2009
US average: 8.3%
Section 07

Work & employment

Unemployment rate
5.9%
−4.3 ptssince 2011
from 10.2% in 2011
US average: 5.2%
Labor force participation
55.2%
+0.5 ptssince 2011
from 54.7% in 2011
US average: 63.5%
Women 20-64 in the labor force
67.1%
+2.3 ptssince 2020
from 64.8% in 2020
US average: 74.6%
Self-employed
13.2%
−1.0 ptssince 2009
from 14.3% in 2009
US average: 13.1%
Management & professional
31.2%
+1.6 ptssince 2009
from 29.6% in 2009
US average: 42.5%
Section 08

People & community

Male
48.6%
+0.6 ptssince 2009
from 47.9% in 2009
Female
51.4%
−0.6 ptssince 2009
from 52.1% in 2009
Foreign born
2.4%
+0.2 ptssince 2009
from 2.3% in 2009
US average: 14.1%
Veterans
6.3%
−5.7 ptssince 2009
from 12.0% in 2009
US average: 6.2%
With a disability
18.9%
−0.4 ptssince 2012
from 19.3% in 2012
US average: 13.3%
Uninsured
11.4%
−4.2 ptssince 2013
from 15.6% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Broadband at home
87.5%
+19.1 ptssince 2017
from 68.4% in 2017
US average: 91.0%
Computer in household
92.5%
+5.4 ptssince 2020
from 87.1% in 2020
US average: 95.5%
Same house as last year
90.2%
+2.3 ptssince 2020
from 87.9% in 2020
US average: 87.7%
English only at home
95.7%
−0.7 ptssince 2016
from 96.4% in 2016
US average: 77.7%
Spanish at home
3.3%
+0.7 ptssince 2016
from 2.6% in 2016
US average: 13.6%
Marital status
Men 15+
Never married32.7%(13,244)
Married50.4%(20,394)
Widowed4%(1,638)
Divorced12.9%(5,226)
Women 15+
Never married25.4%(11,216)
Married48%(21,188)
Widowed11.1%(4,894)
Divorced15.5%(6,817)
SHARE WITHIN EACH SEX · POPULATION 15 AND OVER · 2024
Section 09

Health coverage

Uninsured
11.4%
−4.2 ptssince 2013
from 15.6% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Employer-based
49.7%
−2.2 ptssince 2020
from 51.9% in 2020
US average: 54.8%
Direct-purchase
15.9%
+0.9 ptssince 2020
from 15.0% in 2020
US average: 13.8%
Medicare
22.9%
−0.3 ptssince 2020
from 23.2% in 2020
US average: 18.4%
Medicaid
23.1%
+2.4 ptssince 2020
from 20.7% in 2020
US average: 20.9%
VA health care
2.2%
−0.7 ptssince 2020
from 2.9% in 2020
US average: 2.2%
Any private
62.5%
−2.4 ptssince 2020
from 64.9% in 2020
US average: 67.1%
Any public
42.4%
+2.9 ptssince 2020
from 39.5% in 2020
US average: 36.7%

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)23.5%(1,198)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)24%(1,223)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era30.8%(1,570)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War5.2%(266)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0.4%(21)
US avg: 1%

Share of the 5,102 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
Drill deeper

Places similar to Etowah County

Navajo County
Pop 109,946
Highlands County
Pop 111,122
Vigo County
Pop 106,512
Calhoun County
Pop 115,834
Places similar to Etowah County
Head to head

Compare Etowah County to nearby counties

ETOWAH COUNTY VS
Cherokee County
Income$53,863−1%
Home value$179,700+8%
Population26,413−75%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
ETOWAH COUNTY VS
Calhoun County
Income$55,029+1%
Home value$156,600−6%
Population115,834+12%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
ETOWAH COUNTY VS
Marshall County
Income$62,571+15%
Home value$201,500+21%
Population103,537same
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
ETOWAH COUNTY VS
St. Clair County
Income$77,463+42%
Home value$226,300+35%
Population98,206−5%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
Frequently asked

How many people live in Etowah County, Alabama?

Etowah County, Alabama has about 103,105 residents according to the 2024 American Community Survey.

What is the median household income in Etowah County, Alabama?

The typical household in Etowah County, Alabama earns about $54,563 a year. Half of households make more than that, and half make less.

Is Etowah County, Alabama expensive?

In Etowah County, Alabama, the median home is worth about $167,100, and the typical rent is about $847 a month.

How educated are people in Etowah County, Alabama?

About 18.1% of adults age 25 and over in Etowah County, Alabama hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

What is the poverty rate in Etowah County, Alabama?

About 16.9% of people in Etowah County, Alabama live below the federal poverty line.

Has Etowah County, Alabama grown since 1990?

Yes, Etowah County, Alabama has grown since 1990. The population has added about 3,265 residents, a change of about 3 percent over that period.

Keep going

Explore from here

Up the hierarchy
All counties in Alabama

DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR + DECENNIAL CENSUS · UPDATED 2024

How we source and harmonize this data →