Living in Kinsey, Alabama: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.2% below the U.S. average in the Dothan metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Dothan High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close bySoutheast Health Medical Center in Dothan, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 176 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 Kinsey 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: $132,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 18%Houston County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,053 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $55,500U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $391 a yearAlabama: $788
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 83.8U.S. average = 100 (the Dothan 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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Dothan metro area, not Kinsey 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: 2,2912020: 2,209
Median age: 34.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%
College students: 8%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: Schools, health care and social services (21%); retail (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Southeast Health Medical Center, Dothan, AL, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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 Kinsey itself. The nearest public high school is Dothan High School, about 3 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 64%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 85%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: 38°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 90 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 32 a year
Rain and melted snow: 56.7 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 322 feet

Weather station: Headland (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

Southeast Health Medical CenterEmergency room6

Dothan, ALCity of 72,0006

Birmingham, ALMetro of 1.2 million176

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: Southeast Health Medical Center, Dothan, Birmingham.

Houston 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

Read about Kinsey's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kinsey?

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

Webb, AL1,300 people, 4 miles
Headland, AL5,600 people, 4 miles
Dothan, AL72,000 people, 6 miles
Cowarts, AL2,100 people, 6 miles
Midland City, AL2,300 people, 9 miles
Ashford, AL2,500 people, 10 miles

Smaller places

Grimes, AL581 people, 7 miles
Napier Field, AL410 people, 7 miles
Newville, AL566 people, 9 miles
Avon, AL471 people, 9 miles
Pinckard, AL595 people, 12 miles
Columbia, AL720 people, 13 miles
Haleburg, AL122 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.