Gadsden, AL — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Alabama·Gadsden

Etowah County · Gadsden · population 33,086

AffordabilityShrinking
Gadsden, AL
Image: Wikipedia · Gadsden, Alabama
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
58
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Gadsden stands

At or near all-time high. population shrinking 0.6% per year.

Median home $115,684
1-year +1.6%
5-yr CAGR +3.7%
vs 5-yr peak -1.5%
Population -0.6%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-10$116k$75k$90k$106k$122k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
68/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
58 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
57 · w22%
Distance from peak
81 · w18%
Population growth
35 · w16%
Home 10-yr CAGR
52 · w10%
Long thesis

Gadsden offers a $115,684 median home with +3.7% annualized 5-year appreciation. Affordability + positive trend is one of the better risk/reward setups in US residential — small downside, room to compound.

Short thesis

Gadsden's population is shrinking 0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Gadsden

Gadsden is a city in Etowah County, Alabama, with an estimated population of 33,086. The population has contracted 0.6% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Gadsden is $115,684 as of 2026-04, up 1.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.7% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. The composite momentum score is 58 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -1.5% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
●Cheap entry point: $115,684 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.

▼ Bear case

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Gadsden (Wikipedia)

Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about 56 miles (90 km) northeast of Birmingham, 90 miles (140 km) southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and 72 Miles (117Km) Southeast of Huntsville It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 103,931. The population was 33,945 at the 2020 census.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Etowah County right now.

NWS active alerts (AL)Alabama Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Etowah County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Gadsden

Hueytown, AL59 · StableCenter Point, AL55 · StableOxford, AL66 · RisingJasper, AL58 · Stable

Run the numbers for Gadsden

ToolCan I afford Gadsden?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Gadsden rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Gadsden to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolGadsden cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
56° / 36°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
91° / 71°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
215
~59% of year
Annual precip
58″ rain
1″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Moderate
Tornado
Very high
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
High

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Gadsden listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Gadsden area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
73%
Humid climate
Median household income
$56,900
Alabama state median
Top industries (state-level)
ManufacturingHealthcareRetail

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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