The 10 Dumbest Places In Alabama For 2023


The dumbest places in Alabama are Atmore and Russellville for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Heart Of Dixie have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.

While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.

We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Alabama have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.

A recent study we published found that Alabama is actually the 47th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 96.

But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Alabama are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.

After crunching the numbers, we ranked the ten dumbest cities in the Heart Of Dixie.

Don’t freak out.

Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.

For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 100 cities in Alabama to rank. You can take a look at the data below.

For more Alabama reading, check out:


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Dumbest Places In Alabama For 2023

Atmore, AL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 8,734
% Adult High School Dropout: 29.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Atmore:  Cost Of Living

Russellville, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Rudi Weikard | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 10,691
% Adult High School Dropout: 30.0%
% Highly Educated: 11.0%
More on Russellville:  Cost Of Living

Bay Minette, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Pruitt | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 7,824
% Adult High School Dropout: 23.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Bay Minette:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Tarrant, AL

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 6,137
% Adult High School Dropout: 21.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Tarrant:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Hamilton, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Panoramio upload bot | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 6,974
% Adult High School Dropout: 20.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Hamilton:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Lanett, AL

Source: Wikipedia User SaveRivers | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 6,821
% Adult High School Dropout: 24.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Lanett:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Talladega, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Rivers Langley; SaveRivers | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 15,782
% Adult High School Dropout: 26.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Talladega:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Attalla, AL

Source: Wikipedia User DwayneP | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 5,872
% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 6.0%
More on Attalla:  Cost Of Living

Prichard, AL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 19,645
% Adult High School Dropout: 19.0%
% Highly Educated: 11.0%
More on Prichard:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Roanoke, AL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 5,368
% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 10.0%
More on Roanoke:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Heart Of Dixie

We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So, we narrowed down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Alabama:

  • % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
  • % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)

We got the data from the U.S. Census 2017-2021 American Community Survey.

Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Alabama from dumbest to brightest.

For this ranking, we used every Alabama city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2023, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Alabama.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

If you’re measuring the locations in Alabama where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Alabama, according to science:

  1. Mountain Brook
  2. Homewood
  3. Vestavia Hills

For more Alabama reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Dumbest Cities In Alabama For 2023

Rank City Population
1 Atmore, AL 8,734
2 Russellville, AL 10,691
3 Bay Minette, AL 7,824
4 Tarrant, AL 6,137
5 Hamilton, AL 6,974
6 Lanett, AL 6,821
7 Talladega, AL 15,782
8 Attalla, AL 5,872
9 Prichard, AL 19,645
10 Roanoke, AL 5,368
11 Fort Payne, AL 14,730
12 Greenville, AL 7,395
13 Eufaula, AL 12,753
14 Bessemer, AL 26,171
15 Opp, AL 6,671
16 Tallassee, AL 5,199
17 Sheffield, AL 9,305
18 Albertville, AL 22,268
19 Gadsden, AL 34,317
20 Monroeville, AL 5,953
21 Valley, AL 10,498
22 Chickasaw, AL 6,421
23 Smiths Station, AL 5,420
24 Clanton, AL 8,715
25 Sylacauga, AL 12,512
26 Oneonta, AL 6,778
27 Boaz, AL 10,091
28 Ozark, AL 14,396
29 Rainsville, AL 5,466
30 Oxford, AL 22,210
31 Decatur, AL 57,303
32 Brewton, AL 5,288
33 Selma, AL 18,429
34 Anniston, AL 21,455
35 Robertsdale, AL 6,603
36 Tuscumbia, AL 8,977
37 Wetumpka, AL 7,025
38 Scottsboro, AL 15,446
39 Tuskegee, AL 9,125
40 Foley, AL 20,170
41 Muscle Shoals, AL 15,969
42 Andalusia, AL 8,764
43 Midfield, AL 5,219
44 Margaret, AL 5,118
45 Saraland, AL 15,942
46 Arab, AL 8,462
47 Center Point, AL 16,422
48 Lincoln, AL 6,836
49 Southside, AL 9,253
50 Hueytown, AL 16,694
51 Florence, AL 39,709
52 Athens, AL 25,213
53 Demopolis, AL 7,134
54 Guntersville, AL 8,559
55 Jasper, AL 14,370
56 Satsuma, AL 6,704
57 Dothan, AL 70,318
58 Leeds, AL 12,385
59 Montgomery, AL 201,022
60 Fultondale, AL 9,707
61 Clay, AL 10,320
62 Opelika, AL 30,810
63 Moody, AL 13,100
64 Mobile, AL 187,445
65 Birmingham, AL 202,234
66 Enterprise, AL 28,242
67 Pinson, AL 7,242
68 Cullman, AL 17,892
69 Pleasant Grove, AL 9,638
70 Jacksonville, AL 13,076
71 Fairfield, AL 10,108
72 Hartselle, AL 15,308
73 Millbrook, AL 16,675
74 Prattville, AL 37,977
75 Glencoe, AL 5,360
76 Gardendale, AL 15,920
77 Montevallo, AL 6,968
78 Tuscaloosa, AL 99,252
79 Alabaster, AL 33,133
80 Troy, AL 17,765
81 Northport, AL 30,334
82 Irondale, AL 13,457
83 Huntsville, AL 210,081
84 Calera, AL 16,126
85 Gulf Shores, AL 14,712
86 Pelham, AL 24,134
87 Daphne, AL 27,088
88 Trussville, AL 25,027
89 Chelsea, AL 14,710
90 Fairhope, AL 21,825
91 Madison, AL 55,551
92 Orange Beach, AL 7,847
93 Helena, AL 20,680
94 Auburn, AL 74,637
95 Spanish Fort, AL 9,720
96 Hoover, AL 91,371
97 Pike Road, AL 9,193
98 Vestavia Hills, AL 38,504
99 Homewood, AL 26,206
100 Mountain Brook, AL 22,184
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

15 thoughts on “The 10 Dumbest Places In Alabama For 2023

  1. You’d expect authors so concerned with intelligence to muster more nuanced, evocative writing than that of a catty 7th grader. Please go back to school. Your education really wasn’t long enough to rid you of your ignorance and your thoroughly pedestrian style.

  2. Just because you don’t complete high school don’t mean your dumb. Common sense means a lot to and that’s something you can’t learn in school. I like how people like you put some people down :/ Grow up!!!

    1. Noneya, I agree. However, what you meant to post is this:
      “Just because you don’t complete high school doesn’t mean you’re dumb. Common sense means a lot too, and that’s something you can’t learn in school. I like how people like you put some people down :/ Grow up!!!”
      Hope that helps!
      Not having a basic education really doesn’t mean someone is dumb, it simply means that they are uneducated. My grandfather only made it through the 3rd grade due to the Great Depression and having to help out on the farm, but he loved to read, and he became a Sargent in the Army Corp of Engineers at an early age. He also worked security at Redstone Arsenal after the war. My grandfather had loads of common sense (enough to survive the Battle of Normandy!), and he was quite wiley. I know people who speak English, Latin, Spanish, and a bit of French. They can tell you about everything there is to know about everything. No subject is too trivial for them to have something to say about it. They can tell you the major thoroughfares in Helsinki, Beijing, and Seattle… but they can’t tell you what major thoroughfares are in their own city. They can’t change lightbulbs or adjust the water pressure on a toilet. They don’t know how to pick up after themselves, or mow their own yards, or cook a meal. So, while they may have enlightening things to say about the history of the Methodist Church, or can tell you all about the mating habits of the African Swallow, or can describe in great detail how ancient Egyptian boats were constructed, they can seem like the “dumbest” yokels when it comes to life’s basics, or plain old good common sense.

  3. Your data could be 100% accurate, but using Wikipedia as your source throws your credibility out the window.

  4. The dumbest list fails to take several things into account. First, at least a couple of those cities have a large immigrant population, which will, of course, skew these numbers, but also create cultural diversity within those communities. There is also no mention of municipal infrastructure and tax bases, which both have a great bearing on educational opportunities and resources available to city residents. Also of note, there is no Alexander, Alabama. I believe the city for which you may have been reaching was Alexander City, Alabama. At least the residents there know the name of their city and use it properly.

  5. “It’s nice that their honest, because while folks here may be nice, they sure aren’t the brightest bulbs in the room.”
    (“Their” should be “they’re”)
    Bud, you should move to Fultondale. Maybe you could teach their English classes.

  6. The assumption that one without a high school diploma is “dumb” is foolish. Many people lack education because they could either starve to death while going to school OR drop out and work to help support the family. Many of the people counted in this survey were children of the great depression and had to work to be able to eat. Schooling was a luxury.

    I notice that there is no byline on the article. Obviously the writer was ashamed to place his/her name on this flawed article.

  7. How privileged you must feel to write such a nasty spirited piece of trash. There are plenty of things in any state or any city that are not a strong point just as there are those where a city excels. You could find no place where people care more for one another than Albertville, Alabama. When our city was ravaged 2 years in a row with damage from tornados the city pulled together and helped one another with anything a person needed. People who had damage were out grilling food to feed people who were helping with cleaning up despite the fact that the persons may not have been helping them personally. We more than likely have more people with the abilities of being bilingual than the city you call home. As many others have mentioned, I would make certain to have my work proof-read should I write an article calling other people dumb when I could not properly use the English language. Your piece is not “info-tainment” (that would be the proper way to have used it, moron), it is insulting and a waste of time. It is not science, it is the ill use of statistics that you so evidently do not know how to use nor how to document it.

  8. Great southern hospitality is practiced here, Alabama has a low cost of living. It’s no wonder so many people retire here, Alabama has so many breathtaking mountains,60 miles of beautiful Gulf Coast beaches. We have deep music roots here in Alabama. No matter where you are in Alabama, you’re close to three major cities – Nashville, Atlanta and New Orleans. College football is a huge deal here. After all, Alabama is considered the college football capital of the world. If you love college football, you’ll fit right in. In Alabama, there’s no better place to be on a Friday night than cheering on your local high school football team. There’s always some type of fair or festival going on in Alabama. We have plenty of different food options. Whether you have a craving for country food, seafood, Chinese food, Mexican food, etc. – Alabama has you covered. We experience all four seasons here. Alabama has a very rich history. We love our veterans!.Alabama barbecue can’t be beat! Compared to other states, our cities have little to no traffic. As a matter of fact, some of the smaller towns only have a couple of traffic lights.In Alabama, it’s not uncommon to see cars on the side of the road during a funeral procession. We know the meaning of respect! Alabama is home to Space Camp. Alabama truly is a beautiful state! ;~)

  9. Okay. Number one, not everyone who drops out is stupid. They have other stuff going on, that doesn’t make them dumb. I will admit I have met some dumb people here in Gadsden, but there are dumb people everywhere. Frankly, I don’t think the dropout rate has anything to do with being dumb, but it sure makes you look like a judgemental prick.

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