Official Federal Data
Lauderdale County, Alabama
FIPS 01077 · Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL · Population 95,830
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$62,649 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.1%
Unemployment
4% national
$3.9B ▲
GDP
29.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$62,649 ▲
Per Capita
$35,993 ▲
Mean Household
$84,306 ▲
Poverty Rate
12.2% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Lauderdale County$62,649
Alabama$63,999
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 19.4%
18-34 · 24.3%
35-54 · 22.6%
55-64 · 13.2%
65+ · 20.5%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
90.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +1.0 pts
29.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 5.9 pts
11.2%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 2.9 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
95,830
Population
46,785
Labor Force
Employed
44,785
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.1%
Mean Commute
25.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.8%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 5.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 5,031 workers (23% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $57,928.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $3.9B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $76,341 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $17,813, a 4.3x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Retail Trade Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
3,145
Cluster Employment
2.64x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Forestry and Logging
8.14x 74
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
2.85x 396
General Merchandise Retailers
2.64x 1,693
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
2.39x 196
Primary Metal Manufacturing
2.21x 159
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
1.99x 584
Building Material and Garden Supply Retailers
1.92x 523
Wood Product Manufacturing
1.75x 140
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
1.71x 208
Health and Personal Care Retailers
1.64x 345
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.29x
Truck Transportation
86 employed
0.30x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
156 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Forestry and Logging concentrates at 8.14x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$200,300 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$838 ▲
Rent/Mo
68.9% ▲
Owner-Occ
12.6% ▼
Vacancy
3.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$698/mo
1 Bedroom
$775/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,000/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,242/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,409/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,566/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.2x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Elevated vacancy: 12.6% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,566/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
57,601 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute
25.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
78.8%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
29.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
90.6% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
38,131/yr
10,026/yr
8,117/yr
6,393/yr
5,998/yr
3,892/yr
3,705/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
35.4%
Service
15.9%
Sales & Office
22.5%
Construction / Maint.
9.5%
Production / Transport
16.8%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 44,785 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 24,536 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Lauderdale County shows strong potential for forestry and logging attraction, with a 8.14x concentration and 74 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across forestry and logging, plastics and rubber products manufacturing, and general merchandise retailers creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Lauderdale County, Alabama, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Lauderdale County, Alabama?
95,830 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Lauderdale County, Alabama?
$62,649 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Lauderdale County, Alabama?
3.1% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Lauderdale County, Alabama?
$3.9B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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