Living in Centre, Alabama: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.8% below the U.S. average in the parts of Alabama outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 32 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byFloyd Cherokee Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 76 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Centre meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $158,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Cherokee County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $594 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $44,664U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $682 a yearAlabama: $788
Homes built before 1940: 4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 83.2U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Alabama outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Alabama outside metro areas, not Centre alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 3,9122020: 3,598
Median age: 59.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 38%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 10%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 12%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (26%); government (14%); retail (14%)
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 21%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Floyd Cherokee Medical Center, Centre, AL, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Centre, run by Cherokee County.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Alabama's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 64%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 84%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 29°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 55 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 77 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57.6 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 612 feet

Weather stations: Centre (1 mile away) and Gadsden (20 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Marietta, GACity of 64,00066

Atlanta, GAMetro of 6.5 million76

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Marietta, Atlanta.

Cherokee County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Little River Canyon National Preserve9 miles
Freedom Riders National Monument38 miles
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park56 miles
Russell Cave National Monument57 miles

Read about Centre's history on Wikipedia.

Know Centre?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Leesburg, AL1,000 people, 6 miles
Cedar Bluff, AL1,900 people, 7 miles
Collinsville, AL2,100 people, 14 miles
Hokes Bluff, AL4,700 people, 16 miles
Piedmont, AL4,700 people, 16 miles
Cave Spring, GA1,200 people, 19 miles

Smaller places

Sand Rock, AL620 people, 8 miles
Gaylesville, AL181 people, 10 miles
Ballplay, AL (unincorporated)842 people, 12 miles
Coats Bend, AL (unincorporated)1,630 people, 13 miles
Spring Garden, AL (unincorporated)201 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.