Dauphin Island, Alabama

Population

Growing. Up 8.1% since 2020.

1,929

people, the 197th-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

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

77.4%

of 637 jobs located in Dauphin Island are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 62% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,844

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 $920 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Mobile County.

• $478 Tract 67.03
• $1,398 Tract 67.04

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 is above what local wages can carry.

$887–$1,331

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,844 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

62% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 526 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 6% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 62% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0–0.3% to the 2,262 homes here.

0–6

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

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 106% more than Alabama's.

$432,200

median home value in Dauphin Island.

• $432,200 Dauphin Island
• $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