What is the population of Muscle Shoals city?

Muscle Shoals city has 16,670 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #40 of 593 in Alabama.

What is the median household income in Muscle Shoals city?

Median household income in Muscle Shoals city is $70,927 a year, 9.7% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Muscle Shoals city?

Median gross rent is $939 a month and the median home value is $198,300, so rent absorbs about 15.9% of median household income.

Is Muscle Shoals city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 2.8× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Muscle Shoals city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 15.9% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

Alabama · Census place 53016

Muscle Shoals, AL population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Muscle Shoals, AL — Census place “Muscle Shoals city”) is 16,670 residents, ranking #40 of 593 places in Alabama. Median household income is $70,927, the median home is worth $198,300 and median gross rent runs $939 a month. Looking for the Muscle Shoals Alabama ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Muscle Shoals, AL: 35661.

Population: 16,670Muscle Shoals city residents
Median household income: $70,927Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $198,300Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $939Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 37.2 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 68.8%Owner-occupied households

Muscle Shoals ZIP codes (Alabama)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Muscle Shoals.

The Muscle Shoals AL ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

35661

What the numbers mean in Muscle Shoals city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Muscle Shoals city median would spend about 15.9% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.8× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 10.4% of residents and 68.8% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Muscle Shoals city, AL in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Muscle Shoals city is a mid-size town in Alabama, with 16,670 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #40 of 593 ranked by population — larger than 93% of them. The median age here is 37.2 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Muscle Shoals city earn a median of $70,927 a year, 9.7% below the national figure of $78,538 and 27% above the $55,687 median for the 322 Alabama cities we cover. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 10.4% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Muscle Shoals city is valued at $198,300, 34.6% below the national figure and 25% above the $158,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $939 a month, 33.2% below the national figure, or roughly $11,268 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 15.9% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.8×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 68.8% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Muscle Shoals city?: Muscle Shoals city has 16,670 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #40 of 593 in Alabama.
What is the median household income in Muscle Shoals city?: Median household income in Muscle Shoals city is $70,927 a year, 9.7% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Muscle Shoals city?: Median gross rent is $939 a month and the median home value is $198,300, so rent absorbs about 15.9% of median household income.
Is Muscle Shoals city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 2.8× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Muscle Shoals city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 15.9% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Muscle Shoals city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.