Selma is #1 in Alabama for low depression
Selma is ranked on 34 lists against the 196 Alabama towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 6.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every AL town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Selma marked.
Hotter summers than 97% of Alabama
Not better or worse, just Selma’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Selma lands in the top half on 10 of 23 lists
Each dot is Selma’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in AL, the right end is last. Areas where Selma does best come first.
2 spots from the top 10 for walkable streets
Lists where Selma sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Selma out-ranks every neighbor it can be compared with
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Selma lands in every AL ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Brighton · 1.1 yrs
#8
Cheapest rent#1 Eutaw · $442/mo
#31
Lowest property tax#1 Holt · $223/yr
#27
Rent easiest to afford#1 Muscle Shoals · 26.1%
#53 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Pelham · 36.7%
#21
Most trails#1 Pelham · 2.5 mi / sq mi
#84
Most walkable#1 Brighton · 159 / sq mi
#12 Health
Healthiest#1 Mountain Brook · 99 / 100
#177
Lowest obesity#1 Mountain Brook · 27%
#179
Fewest smokers#1 Mountain Brook · 7%
#158
Most active#1 Mountain Brook · 15%
#177
Fewest uninsured#1 Mountain Brook · 4%
#138
Lowest depression#1 Brighton · 20%
#1
Closest to a top hospital#1 Enterprise · 0.7 mi
#96 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Jackson · 14.1 min
#91 People
Most educated#1 Mountain Brook · 88.6%
#116
Youngest#1 Livingston · 20.7
#92
Oldest#1 Centre · 59.3
#104
Most residents 65+#1 Centre · 38%
#77
Most kids#1 East Brewton · 38.3%
#74 
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Orange Beach · 49.8%
#87
Most new homes#1 Triana · 47.2 per 1,000
#142
S
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Sheffield · +87.7%
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Chickasaw · 31.9 per home
The number on the right is Selma’s spot. All of Alabama’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every AL list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.