county

Hale County, AL

Demographic and economic profile of Hale County, AL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Hale County is a small rural Alabama county of 14,749 residents with an economy reflected in a GDP per capita of $18,264 and median household income of $39,250, well below state and national averages. The labor force is constrained, with only 50.2% participation, 5.9% unemployment, and 16.8% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are low—median home value of $126,300 and median gross rent of $723/month—though a 23.9% poverty rate and a population decline of 0.9% over five years mark ongoing structural pressures.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

14,749

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$39,250

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.9% since 2018

Hale County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • Black or African American Alone8,105 (54.7%)
  • White Alone5,645 (38.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races555 (3.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race367 (2.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone82 (0.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone60 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish133
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic10
  3. 3.Korean8

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

783

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$18,264

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,024

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,751
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)872
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)719
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services461
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services400

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,920
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,120
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,009
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations828
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations420

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.55×)221
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.52×)822
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.44×)852
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.37×)1,732
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.11×)526

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$126,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$723/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999496 (11.8%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999328 (7.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999313 (7.5%)
  • $10,000 to $14,999311 (7.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999294 (7.0%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999265 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

81.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

50.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$34,863

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,475 (85.5%)
  • Carpooled541 (10.3%)
  • Worked At Home116 (2.2%)
  • Walked54 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit18 (0.3%)
  • Taxi16 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.