Best Small Places for Business and Careers 2019

Florence, AL

Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
the place image

Florence, AL

Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
gross metro product
$5.8B
population
147.1K
median household income
$46,705
median home price
$144,000
cost of living
10% below nat'l avg
college attainment
22.2%
net migration
110 (year: 2018)
unemployment
4.2%
major industries
Health care, Education
job growth
0.1% (year: 2018)
As of October 2019
Florence is renowned for its annual tourism events, including W.C. Handy Music Festival in the summer and the Renaissance Faire in the fall. Florence is also home to several museums, historical sites, and numerous parks to serve the cultural and recreational needs of citizens and tourists. Situated in Florence, and founded in 1830 as LaGrange College, the University of North Alabama, a public, co-educational, higher education institution, is Alabama's oldest state-certified university.
On forbes lists
#131
In Cost of Doing Business
#144
In Job Growth
#134
In Education
By The Numbers
EmploymentHousingEducationQuality of Life
Job Growth
0.1% (year: 2018)
Projected Annual Job Growth
0.4%
Unemployment
4.2%
Median Household Income
$46,705
Household Income Growth
2.2%
High-Tech Employment
0.5%
  • Data is for the metro area
  • Sources: Moody's Analytics; Sperling's BestPlaces; U.S. Census.
  • Numbers as of October 2019


  • a - Value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a typical mortgage on a median-priced single-family home. An index above 100 signifies that the family has surplus income.
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