Coaling, Alabama

Population

Down 1.5% since 2020.

2,003

people, the 191st-largest of Alabama's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Alabama's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

92.4%

of 131 jobs located in Coaling are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 133% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,254

a month. Alabama's median is $1,007.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,820 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Tuscaloosa County.

• $753 Tract 102.03
• $2,573 Tract 101.01

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$930–$1,395

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,254 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

50% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 50% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1% to the 816 homes here.

1

is the estimated number of missing housing units; all three estimates agree.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 9% more than Alabama's.

$228,000

median home value in Coaling.

• $228,000 Coaling
• $209,900 Alabama
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year