Elberta, Alabama — Trends and Changes
How has Elberta, Alabama changed since 2009?
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The population has grown about 36 percent, from 1,680 to 2,293 people; the median household income has risen from $29,041 to $55,000 (not adjusted for inflation); the typical home has gone from $126,800 to $232,800; and the share of people working from home has climbed from 2.0% to 9.7%. Figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year releases, so each point is a rolling five-year estimate.
Each line starts at 100 in 2009; a line reaching 200 means that measure doubled. Exact values for each measure are in the charts and tables below. Source: ACS 5-year estimates.
| Measure | 2009 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,680 | 2,293 | +36% |
| Median household income | $29,041 | $55,000 | +89% |
| Median home value | $126,800 | $232,800 | +84% |
| Median rent | $639 | $1,059 | +66% |
| Median age | 48.1 yrs | 46.6 yrs | -1.5 yrs |
| Average commute | 22.9 min | 23.7 min | +0.8 min |
| College educated | 29.7% | 26.2% | -3.5 points |
| Working from home | 2.0% | 9.7% | +7.7 points |
| Poverty rate | 16.8% | 21.4% | +4.6 points |
| Unemployment | 8.1% | 1.9% | -6.2 points |
| Homeownership | 55.8% | 70.9% | +15.1 points |
| Rent as share of income | 26.8% | 35.7% | +8.9 points |
| Foreign-born residents | 5.1% | 7.1% | +2.0 points |
| Broadband at home | 72.6% | 87.5% | +14.9 points |
Dollar figures are not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
A typical household in Elberta earned $29,041 a year in 2009. By 2024 that figure had climbed to $55,000, a change of +89 percent before inflation.
| Year | Income | Alabama average |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $29,041 | $42,437 |
| 2010 | $30,161 | $43,720 |
| 2011 | $32,974 | $44,853 |
| 2012 | $31,231 | $45,080 |
| 2013 | $30,833 | $45,192 |
| 2014 | $31,528 | $45,396 |
| 2015 | $31,190 | $45,598 |
| 2016 | $30,750 | $46,825 |
| 2017 | $36,333 | $48,536 |
| 2018 | $34,455 | $50,367 |
| 2019 | $40,278 | $52,656 |
| 2020 | $47,473 | $54,336 |
| 2021 | $48,657 | $57,233 |
| 2022 | $47,452 | $62,334 |
| 2023 | $57,996 | $65,373 |
| 2024 | $55,000 | $67,652 |
The median home in Elberta was worth $126,800 in 2009. Values slid as low as $92,600 in 2013 before recovering, and by 2024 the typical home was worth $232,800.
| Year | Home Value | Alabama average |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $126,800 | $125,974 |
| 2010 | $111,600 | $132,655 |
| 2011 | $108,600 | $135,477 |
| 2012 | $96,200 | $136,788 |
| 2013 | $92,600 | $136,732 |
| 2014 | $100,500 | $138,035 |
| 2015 | $109,400 | $139,232 |
| 2016 | $111,700 | $141,274 |
| 2017 | $109,900 | $144,332 |
| 2018 | $116,800 | $148,418 |
| 2019 | $121,200 | $153,437 |
| 2020 | $142,000 | $160,202 |
| 2021 | $151,100 | $169,466 |
| 2022 | $198,600 | $197,546 |
| 2023 | $215,600 | $213,508 |
| 2024 | $232,800 | $231,263 |
Elberta counted 1,680 residents in 2009 and 2,293 in 2024.
| Year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 1,680 |
| 2010 | 1,676 |
| 2011 | 1,642 |
| 2012 | 1,713 |
| 2013 | 1,545 |
| 2014 | 1,470 |
| 2015 | 1,506 |
| 2016 | 1,400 |
| 2017 | 1,612 |
| 2018 | 1,741 |
| 2019 | 1,709 |
| 2020 | 1,958 |
| 2021 | 2,302 |
| 2022 | 2,140 |
| 2023 | 2,209 |
| 2024 | 2,293 |
Renters here paid a median of $639 a month in 2009 and $1,059 by 2024. Local incomes have grown faster than rents over that stretch.
| Year | Rent |
|---|---|
| 2009 | $639 |
| 2010 | $661 |
| 2011 | $686 |
| 2012 | $686 |
| 2013 | $740 |
| 2014 | $710 |
| 2015 | $708 |
| 2016 | $687 |
| 2017 | $703 |
| 2018 | $700 |
| 2019 | $676 |
| 2020 | $686 |
| 2021 | $833 |
| 2022 | $832 |
| 2023 | $900 |
| 2024 | $1,059 |
The share of adults holding a college degree went from 29.7% to 26.2%. Meanwhile remote work went from 2.0% of workers to 9.7%, one of the biggest shifts in how people here live and work. Broadband reached 87.5% of households, from 72.6% in 2017.
| Year | College educated | Working from home | Broadband at home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 29.7% | 2% | |
| 2010 | 28% | 1.3% | |
| 2011 | 34.6% | 3.2% | |
| 2012 | 29.3% | 3.2% | |
| 2013 | 25.9% | 2.7% | |
| 2014 | 28.8% | 3.2% | |
| 2015 | 29.5% | 4.3% | |
| 2016 | 30.1% | 5.5% | |
| 2017 | 29.3% | 5.3% | 72.6% |
| 2018 | 29.3% | 4.4% | 74.9% |
| 2019 | 26.3% | 3.8% | 74.9% |
| 2020 | 28.7% | 3.2% | 80.5% |
| 2021 | 25.5% | 2.9% | 79.5% |
| 2022 | 27.7% | 4.2% | 82.4% |
| 2023 | 27.2% | 7.5% | 84.2% |
| 2024 | 26.2% | 9.7% | 87.5% |
Percent of adults with a college degree; percent of workers who work from home; percent of households with a broadband subscription (tracked since 2017).
The median resident of Elberta was 48.1 years old in 2009. The town has been getting younger since: the median age reached 46.6 by 2024.
| Year | Median age |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 48.1 |
| 2010 | 43.6 |
| 2011 | 48.3 |
| 2012 | 43.1 |
| 2013 | 48.1 |
| 2014 | 46.4 |
| 2015 | 43.1 |
| 2016 | 45.9 |
| 2017 | 47.7 |
| 2018 | 46.4 |
| 2019 | 47.5 |
| 2020 | 52.2 |
| 2021 | 47.2 |
| 2022 | 49.2 |
| 2023 | 49.8 |
| 2024 | 46.6 |
Getting to work took an average of 22.9 minutes in 2009; it now takes about 23.7 minutes.
| Year | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 22.9 |
| 2010 | 29.9 |
| 2011 | 30.3 |
| 2012 | 30.5 |
| 2013 | 34.3 |
| 2014 | 30.9 |
| 2015 | 22 |
| 2016 | 21.3 |
| 2017 | 21.4 |
| 2018 | 21.1 |
| 2019 | 28.5 |
| 2020 | 28.9 |
| 2021 | 29.6 |
| 2022 | 26.9 |
| 2023 | 27.3 |
| 2024 | 23.7 |
About 21.4% of residents live below the poverty line, up from 16.8% in 2009. Unemployment stands at 1.9%.
| Year | Poverty rate | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 16.8% | |
| 2010 | 18.5% | |
| 2011 | 22.3% | 8.1% |
| 2012 | 28% | 6.1% |
| 2013 | 32.1% | 1.7% |
| 2014 | 16.5% | 5.2% |
| 2015 | 15.8% | 5.3% |
| 2016 | 17.8% | 7.4% |
| 2017 | 17.7% | 8.4% |
| 2018 | 15.7% | 11.1% |
| 2019 | 17.2% | 6.2% |
| 2020 | 19.2% | 3.9% |
| 2021 | 24.4% | 5.2% |
| 2022 | 20.9% | 4.2% |
| 2023 | 22.1% | 2.2% |
| 2024 | 21.4% | 1.9% |
The Gini index measures income inequality: 0 would mean every household earns the same, 1 would mean a single household earns everything. Elberta scores 0.53, up from 0.33 - incomes here have grown more unequal.
| Year | Gini index |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.3 |
| 2011 | 0.5 |
| 2012 | 0.4 |
| 2013 | 0.4 |
| 2014 | 0.4 |
| 2015 | 0.4 |
| 2016 | 0.4 |
| 2017 | 0.4 |
| 2018 | 0.4 |
| 2019 | 0.4 |
| 2020 | 0.4 |
| 2021 | 0.4 |
| 2022 | 0.4 |
| 2023 | 0.5 |
| 2024 | 0.5 |
70.9% of occupied homes are owned by the people living in them, up from 55.8% in 2009. The typical renter puts 35.7% of household income toward rent, above the 30% threshold that housing economists consider burdensome. About 15.1% of housing units sit vacant.
| Year | Homeownership | Rent as share of income | Vacant units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 55.8% | 26.8% | 18.5% |
| 2010 | 59.5% | 27.5% | 20.2% |
| 2011 | 65.4% | 26.1% | 24.1% |
| 2012 | 59.7% | 28.6% | 25.1% |
| 2013 | 62.1% | 34.3% | 20.3% |
| 2014 | 52.8% | 33.4% | 20.2% |
| 2015 | 48.7% | 33.2% | 21.3% |
| 2016 | 47.7% | 36.4% | 22.3% |
| 2017 | 53.2% | 31.3% | 19.6% |
| 2018 | 50.7% | 30.8% | 16.2% |
| 2019 | 60.4% | 34% | 17% |
| 2020 | 67.4% | 29% | 13.5% |
| 2021 | 64.4% | 25.7% | 12.6% |
| 2022 | 64.5% | 28.3% | 16.2% |
| 2023 | 70.4% | 26.3% | 16.7% |
| 2024 | 70.9% | 35.7% | 15.1% |
7.1% of residents were born outside the United States, compared with 5.1% in 2009. Residents identifying as something other than non-Hispanic white make up 15.2% of the town, up from 13.0% at the start of the period.
| Year | Foreign-born | Nonwhite or Hispanic |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 5.1% | 13% |
| 2010 | 6% | 13.7% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | 14.4% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | 16.2% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | 18.8% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | 7.6% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | 10.2% |
| 2016 | 3.1% | 8.6% |
| 2017 | 2.9% | 7.3% |
| 2018 | 3% | 7.8% |
| 2019 | 2.9% | 7.5% |
| 2020 | 1% | 3% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | 10.3% |
| 2022 | 4.9% | 10.8% |
| 2023 | 5.7% | 10% |
| 2024 | 7.1% | 15.2% |