Living in Town Creek, Alabama: homes, schools and costs

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 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 17.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byNorth Alabama Shoals Hospital in Muscle Shoals, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 86 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 Town Creek 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: $118,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 14%Lawrence County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $627 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $43,229U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $414 a yearAlabama: $788
Homes built before 1940: 4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Decatur metro area, not Town Creek 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: 1,0672020: 1,056
Median age: 38.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 10%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 (34%); retail (20%); schools, health care and social services (17%)
Work from home: 1%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: North Alabama Shoals Hospital, Muscle Shoals, AL, about 16 miles away. 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 Town Creek, run by Lawrence 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: 52%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: 48 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 64 a year
Rain and melted snow: 60.2 inches a year
Snow: 2 inches a year
Elevation: 571 feet

Weather stations: Courtland 2 WSW (4 miles away) and Moulton 2 (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

North Alabama Shoals HospitalEmergency room16

Decatur, ALCity of 58,00025

Birmingham, ALMetro of 1.2 million86

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: North Alabama Shoals Hospital, Decatur, Birmingham.

Lawrence 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Natchez Trace Parkway30 miles
Shiloh National Military Park59 miles

Read about Town Creek's history on Wikipedia.

Know Town Creek?

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

Rogersville, AL1,400 people, 13 miles
Muscle Shoals, AL17,700 people, 14 miles
Moulton, AL3,400 people, 15 miles
Killen, AL1,000 people, 15 miles
Littleville, AL1,100 people, 16 miles
Tuscumbia, AL9,300 people, 17 miles

Smaller places

Courtland, AL594 people, 5 miles
North Courtland, AL500 people, 6 miles
Leighton, AL669 people, 7 miles
Hatton, AL (unincorporated)405 people, 8 miles
Hillsboro, AL419 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.