Shorter, Alabama

Population

Down 7.0% since 2020.

356

people, the 357th-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

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

98.4%

of 251 jobs located in Shorter are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is down 47% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$442

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

Census ACS 5-year, 2015-2019 (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 jumps $471.

A $471 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Macon County.

• $577 Tract 2316.02
• $1,048 Tract 2322

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

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$669–$1,004

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $442 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2015-2019. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

67% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 4 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 67% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; 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 0–2% to the 197 homes here.

0–3

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 53% less than Alabama's.

$98,600

median home value in Shorter.

• $98,600 Shorter
• $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