City profile · Alabama · Census ACS 2023

Forestdale, AL

Forestdale's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

9,149
Residents
$57,145
Median income
$150,700
Median home
$936
Median rent (state)
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See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Forestdale.

Place dossier plate

Sheet AL-FORESTDALE-AL · Forestdale, AL 9,149 pop · income 31st pct

POP-TOWN · INC-MID · COL-BELOW · SAFE-UNK · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-LOW · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-TOWN 9,149
  • INC-MID $57,145
  • COL-BELOW 88.8
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-LOWER 31st
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Pleasant Plains
  • HOME-LOW $150,700
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Pleasant Plains, AR ( $2 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Forestdale

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Forestdale on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Forestdale on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 9,149.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $57,145. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Forestdale - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Forestdale lands in the 31st percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

31st
percentile, household income
27th
percentile, home value
1st
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Forestdale, AL

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 9,149 residents in Forestdale, a small town within Alabama. Median household income here is $57,145 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 13.8%. Home values in Forestdale run a median of $150,700, and the median resident age is 42.4 years. About 27.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 60.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

Living costs in Alabama run below the national norm: the state registers 88.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $936 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Alabama's average monthly utility costs around $245 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 61.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Forestdale's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Forestdale, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Forestdale?

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.

The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 13.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 2

What does the journey to work look like in Forestdale?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.

Compare commute patterns →

3. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Forestdale?

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Within Alabama, the closest population matches are Tuscumbia (9,084 residents, $47,342 income); Tuskegee (9,070 residents, $38,160 income); Sheffield (9,334 residents, $42,097 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Merrydale, LA (9,149 residents); Fairfield Glade, TN (9,149 residents); Old Orchard Beach, ME (9,150 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Population

9,149 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$57,145 /yr

Below median income · poverty 13.8% (High poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

88.8 (US=100)

Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Alabama average

City profile score · Forestdale, AL

48/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Cost of living A+
88.8 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Bachelor's+ share C-
27.5%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income F
$57,145

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate F
13.8%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Forestdale profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Cost of living, Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Poverty rate. Cost of livingBachelor's+ shareHousehold incomePoverty rate 48 D
Forestdale profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Cost of living: 90/100 (A+) · 88.8 index
  • Bachelor's+ share: 54/100 (C-) · 27.5%
  • Household income: 30/100 (F) · $57,145
  • Poverty rate: 25/100 (F) · 13.8%

How does Forestdale compare to other US cities?

Where Forestdale sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 31% higher than other cities
Home value 27% pricier than other cities
Median rent 1% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Forestdale against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alabama only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Alabama-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Forestdale near the bottom of Alabama's cities

Among the 556 Alabama cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Forestdale ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Forestdale only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#227 of 530
57th percentile in Alabama
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Median Home Value
#235 of 517
55th percentile in Alabama
Poverty Rate
#228 of 556
59th percentile in Alabama
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#105 of 556
81st percentile in Alabama
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alabama only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

31stIncome percentile
Gauge source note

31st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Forestdale's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$150,700 Among the most affordable more affordable than 73% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). This entry sits in this band. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Above this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Above this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Forestdale $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Forestdale's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,705 of 15,516
More affordable than 70% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,161 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 2.6×, Forestdale sits in the affordable band: national rank #4,705 of 15,516 and #4,161 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$57,145 Forestdale, AL median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Forestdale, AL Forestdale, AL's median household income ($57,145) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Forestdale, AL-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Forestdale, AL median $57,145/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Forestdale, AL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Forestdale, AL.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 27.5%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 13.8%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 60.2%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
9,149
Median Income
$57,145
Median Home Value
$150,700
Median Age
42.4
Poverty Rate
13.8%
Labor force participation
60.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.5%

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
87.5%
Carpool
6.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
5.9%

Based on 4,384 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Alabama statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $245

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alabama at $245 (electricity about $138 , water and sewer about $45 ).

These are Alabama statewide averages, not a meter reading for Forestdale. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Alabama's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Forestdale is $936/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alabama statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 / 100 (Moderate).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Alabama statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Forestdale sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Forestdale compares to similar-size Alabama cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Forestdale (this city) 9,149 $57,145
Tuscumbia 9,084 $47,342
Tuskegee 9,070 $38,160
Sheffield 9,334 $42,097
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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