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Falkville, Alabama

Falkville is a small town of about 1,100 people in Morgan County, Alabama. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Birmingham, is about 59 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,121
down 5.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$139,600
Morgan County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$46,888
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Decatur area
87.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
14 miles
Cullman, AL
To Birmingham
59 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.8% below the U.S. average in the Decatur metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 59 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 Falkville 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.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Falkville has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$139,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Morgan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$693 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$46,888U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$496 a yearAlabama: $788
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.2U.S. average = 100 (the Decatur metro area)

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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Decatur metro area, not Falkville 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
1,1212020: 1,187
Median age
53.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
38%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
8%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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
Manufacturing (19%); schools, health care and social services (14%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
1%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cullman Regional Medical Center, Cullman, AL, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

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

2 public schools in Falkville, run by Morgan 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
61%U.S.: 76%

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
31°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
41 a year
Nights at or below freezing
52 a year
Rain and melted snow
61.7 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
598 feet

Weather stations: Decatur 4SE (14 miles away) and Cullman Nahs (14 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

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: Cullman Regional Medical Center, Decatur, Birmingham.

Morgan County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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:

  • Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument60 miles

Read about Falkville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Falkville?

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

Smaller places

  • Eva, AL604 people, 9 miles
  • Somerville, AL833 people, 9 miles
  • West Point, AL658 people, 10 miles
  • South Vinemont, AL606 people, 10 miles
  • East Point, AL (unincorporated)293 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.