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Century, Florida

Century is a small town of about 1,800 people in Escambia County, Florida. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New Orleans, is about 171 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,799
up 4.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$68,700
Escambia County prices up 9.5% since 2022
Household income
$27,609
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Pensacola area
97.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Jay, FL
To New Orleans
171 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.3% below the U.S. average in the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 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 neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Century 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Flomaton High School, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byJay Hospital in Jay, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 171 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 Century 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
$68,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.5%Escambia County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$716 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$27,609U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97.7U.S. average = 100 (the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 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 9.5% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent metro area, not Century 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
1,7992020: 1,723
Median age
39.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
5%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
Construction (15%); retail (13%)
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
22%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Jay Hospital, Jay, FL, about 7 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Atmore Community Hospital, Atmore, AL, about 13 miles away. 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

1 public school in Century, run by Escambia. The nearest public high school is Flomaton High School, about 2 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida'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 any internet subscription
84%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
39°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
83 a year
Nights at or below freezing
48 a year
Rain and melted snow
65.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
89 feet

Weather station: Brewton 3 SSE (14 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: Jay Hospital, Pensacola, New Orleans.

Escambia County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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, including the Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company Residential Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Gulf Islands National Seashore42 miles

Read about Century's history on Wikipedia.

Know Century?

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

Smaller places

  • Pollard, AL130 people, 6 miles
  • Brownsdale, FL (unincorporated)378 people, 6 miles
  • Jay, FL594 people, 7 miles
  • Pine Level, FL (unincorporated)248 people, 8 miles
  • Mount Carmel, FL (unincorporated)280 people, 8 miles
  • Riverview, AL162 people, 13 miles
  • Chumuckla, FL (unincorporated)681 people, 13 miles
  • Whitfield, FL (unincorporated)599 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. 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.