Living in Goodwater, 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Goodwater to say.
A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Central High School, about 9 miles away.
A hospital close byRussell Medical Center in Alexander City, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 54 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 Goodwater 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

Home prices since then: Up 47%Coosa County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $650 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $39,511U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 57%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940: 15%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%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 47% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Alabama outside metro areas, not Goodwater 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: 1,2562020: 1,295
Median age: 45.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 28%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 5%U.S.: 36%

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: Retail (16%)
Unemployment rate: 7%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 0%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Russell Medical Center, Alexander City, AL, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

There are no public schools inside Goodwater itself. The nearest public high school is Central High School, about 9 miles away.

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.

Weather

January average low: 32°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 62 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 59 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 821 feet

Weather station: Alexander City (10 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

Russell Medical CenterEmergency room12

Auburn, ALCity of 85,00045

Birmingham, ALMetro of 1.2 million54

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: Russell Medical Center, Auburn, Birmingham.

Coosa 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:

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park18 miles
Freedom Riders National Monument40 miles
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site47 miles
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site48 miles
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument54 miles

Read about Goodwater's history on Wikipedia.

Know Goodwater?

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

Alexander City, AL14,500 people, 12 miles
Sylacauga, AL12,100 people, 16 miles
Ashland, AL2,000 people, 19 miles
Dadeville, AL2,900 people, 23 miles
Childersburg, AL4,600 people, 23 miles
Lineville, AL2,500 people, 25 miles

Smaller places

Mount Olive, AL (unincorporated)208 people, 5 miles
Kellyton, AL123 people, 6 miles
Hollins, AL (unincorporated)465 people, 6 miles
Hackneyville, AL (unincorporated)471 people, 7 miles
Hanover, AL (unincorporated)248 people, 9 miles
Millerville, AL (unincorporated)447 people, 11 miles
Stewartville, AL (unincorporated)1,629 people, 12 miles
Hissop, AL (unincorporated)206 people, 13 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.