What it's like to live in Sylacauga
Sylacauga is a small city in Alabama with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Sylacauga deals with household incomes below the national average, crime rates above the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, and a population that has been shrinking.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Crime above national average
- Low college degree attainment
- Shrinking population
- High poverty rate
- Above-average rainfall
How Sylacauga compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Sylacauga
Based on Sylacauga's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,546
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $30,920 a year
- 33% of Sylacauga renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$32,240
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $16,120
- Homes cost 3.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 45% below US
$773/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $773 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $161,200. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $161,200 · 33% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in Talladega County is 3.2%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Talladega County (county-wide)
Safety▲ 39% above US
458 violent crimes per 100k
Crime is worth weighing seriously here. Rates run above the national average, and while plenty of residents live comfortably, neighborhood selection matters a lot more than it does in a safer city.
Property crime 2504/100k · Sylacauga Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
24 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 24.1 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 89°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 33°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 3.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 50% below US
18% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Horseshoe Bend National Military Park (33 miles away). There are 7 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Sylacauga's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and crime rates above the national average. A year of median rent ($773/mo) equals 19% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low).
Other places near Sylacauga
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