Living in Good Hope, 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 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Good Hope itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byCullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 41 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 Good Hope 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: $203,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 11%Cullman County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $884 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $93,661U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $836 a yearAlabama: $788
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Alabama outside metro areas, not Good Hope 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: 2,6822020: 2,497
Median age: 30.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%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: Manufacturing (22%); schools, health care and social services (15%); other services (11%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 11%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 7 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

4 public schools in Good Hope, run by Cullman 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: 74%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: 30°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 46 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 72 a year
Rain and melted snow: 59 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 668 feet

Weather station: Hanceville (5 miles away). 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

Cullman Regional Medical CenterEmergency room7

Decatur, ALCity of 58,00033

Birmingham, ALMetro of 1.2 million41

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.

Cullman County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, 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 Monument41 miles

Read about Good Hope's history on Wikipedia.

Know Good Hope?

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

Cullman, AL21,000 people, 5 miles
Hanceville, AL3,400 people, 7 miles
Blountsville, AL1,800 people, 16 miles
Hayden, AL1,300 people, 17 miles
Falkville, AL1,100 people, 19 miles
Cleveland, AL1,300 people, 19 miles

Smaller places

Dodge City, AL569 people, 5 miles
East Point, AL (unincorporated)293 people, 7 miles
Berlin, AL541 people, 8 miles
South Vinemont, AL606 people, 9 miles
Garden City, AL545 people, 9 miles
West Point, AL658 people, 10 miles
Colony, AL281 people, 12 miles
Fairview, AL545 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.