The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the Birmingham metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 29.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
- A hospital close byBibb Medical Center in Centreville, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 34 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 West Blocton 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
- $99,500U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 16%Bibb County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical household income
- $40,560U.S.: $80,734
- Homes built before 1940
- 18%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 5%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 91.6U.S. average = 100 (the Birmingham 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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Birmingham metro area, not West Blocton 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
- 1,1942020: 1,211
- Median age
- 40 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 18%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 19%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 13%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 9%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 (13%)
- 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: Bibb Medical Center, Centreville, AL, about 12 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 West Blocton, run by Bibb 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.
Weather
- January average low
- 32°F
- July average high
- 91°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 66 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 67 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 57 inches a year
- Snow
- 1 inches a year
- Elevation
- 499 feet
Weather station: Centreville 6 SW (19 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
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: Bibb Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham.
Bibb County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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 Monument33 miles
Read about West Blocton's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Woodstock, AL1,700 people, 7 miles
- Vance, AL2,300 people, 7 miles
- Centreville, AL2,700 people, 11 miles
- Lake View, AL4,000 people, 11 miles
- Brent, AL4,400 people, 12 miles
- Coaling, AL2,000 people, 13 miles
Smaller places
- Pea Ridge, AL (unincorporated)718 people, 11 miles
- Wilton, AL600 people, 14 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.