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 the 45th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 95.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Alabama are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
#1 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Jefferson County, Alabama
Tarrant is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, southeast of Fultondale. At the 2010 census the population was 6,397. It is home to the ABC Coke plant owned by the Drummond Company, “the largest single producer of foundry coke in the U.S.”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Escambia County, Alabama
Atmore is a city in Escambia County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1907. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 10,194, with an estimated population of 10,006 in 2014. Atmore is in the planning stages to increase its economic base with additions in its new Rivercane development along the I-65 corridor.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Talladega County, Alabama
Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2010 census the population was 15,676. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham.
The city is home to the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind and the Talladega Municipal Airport, a public general aviation airport. The Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega College and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame are located nearby. The First National Bank of Talladega is the oldest bank in the State of Alabama, being founded in 1848.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Covington County, Alabama
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Franklin County, Alabama
Russellville is a city in Franklin County in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,830, up from 8,971 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Mobile County, Alabama
Prichard is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Chambers County, Alabama
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Etowah County, Alabama
Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about 56 miles northeast of Birmingham and 90 miles southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 103,931. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 36,856, with an estimated population of 35,837 in 2016. Gadsden and Rome, Georgia, are the largest cities in the triangular area defined by the Interstate highways between Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
DeKalb County, Alabama
Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 14,012.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 dumbest in Alabama
Located in
Baldwin County, Alabama
Bay Minette is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 8,044. The city is the county seat of Baldwin County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Alabama’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Alabama’s dumbest cities are
Saturday Night Science
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 used Saturday Night Science to narrow 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 2020-2024 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 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Alabama.
The full plate
Dumbest Cities In Alabama For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarrant | 5,925 | 27.0% | 7.0% |
| 2 | Atmore | 8,334 | 20.0% | 11.0% |
| 3 | Talladega | 14,760 | 23.0% | 13.0% |
| 4 | Opp | 6,709 | 17.0% | 9.0% |
| 5 | Russellville | 10,799 | 26.0% | 15.0% |
| 6 | Prichard | 18,961 | 17.0% | 11.0% |
| 7 | Lanett | 6,814 | 16.0% | 10.0% |
| 8 | Gadsden | 33,374 | 18.0% | 15.0% |
| 9 | Fort Payne | 14,927 | 21.0% | 17.0% |
| 10 | Bay Minette | 8,295 | 16.0% | 14.0% |
| 11 | Hamilton | 6,922 | 16.0% | 16.0% |
| 12 | Eufaula | 12,584 | 16.0% | 16.0% |
| 13 | Valley | 10,277 | 16.0% | 17.0% |
| 14 | Chickasaw | 6,332 | 13.0% | 13.0% |
| 15 | Bessemer | 25,400 | 14.0% | 15.0% |
| 16 | Attalla | 5,775 | 12.0% | 11.0% |
| 17 | Albertville | 22,813 | 17.0% | 21.0% |
| 18 | Andalusia | 8,766 | 17.0% | 21.0% |
| 19 | Monroeville | 5,802 | 15.0% | 18.0% |
| 20 | Robertsdale | 7,194 | 11.0% | 11.0% |
| 21 | Sylacauga | 12,309 | 14.0% | 18.0% |
| 22 | Oneonta | 6,971 | 21.0% | 25.0% |
| 23 | Brewton | 5,186 | 17.0% | 24.0% |
| 24 | Decatur | 57,361 | 16.0% | 22.0% |
| 25 | Sheffield | 9,340 | 13.0% | 18.0% |
| 26 | Roanoke | 5,336 | 12.0% | 17.0% |
| 27 | Smiths Station | 5,496 | 15.0% | 22.0% |
| 28 | Anniston | 21,271 | 15.0% | 21.0% |
| 29 | Greenville | 7,163 | 11.0% | 17.0% |
| 30 | Boaz | 10,814 | 10.0% | 16.0% |
| 31 | Tallassee | 5,134 | 9.0% | 12.0% |
| 32 | Hueytown | 16,414 | 11.0% | 20.0% |
| 33 | Selma | 17,057 | 11.0% | 20.0% |
| 34 | Tuscumbia | 9,115 | 15.0% | 26.0% |
| 35 | Midfield | 5,045 | 9.0% | 16.0% |
| 36 | Clanton | 8,958 | 10.0% | 18.0% |
| 37 | Pinson | 7,832 | 8.0% | 14.0% |
| 38 | Scottsboro | 15,712 | 11.0% | 23.0% |
| 39 | Ozark | 14,327 | 10.0% | 19.0% |
| 40 | Muscle Shoals | 16,951 | 11.0% | 24.0% |
| 41 | Headland | 5,217 | 17.0% | 34.0% |
| 42 | Wetumpka | 7,437 | 13.0% | 27.0% |
| 43 | Leeds | 12,028 | 13.0% | 27.0% |
| 44 | Rainsville | 5,702 | 14.0% | 29.0% |
| 45 | Guntersville | 8,916 | 16.0% | 33.0% |
| 46 | Foley | 24,026 | 11.0% | 24.0% |
| 47 | Enterprise | 29,505 | 11.0% | 25.0% |
| 48 | Tuskegee | 8,938 | 13.0% | 29.0% |
| 49 | Center Point | 15,914 | 8.0% | 18.0% |
| 50 | Lincoln | 7,305 | 8.0% | 19.0% |
| 51 | Arab | 8,679 | 10.0% | 25.0% |
| 52 | Dothan | 71,514 | 11.0% | 28.0% |
| 53 | Athens | 29,002 | 12.0% | 31.0% |
| 54 | Birmingham | 198,173 | 12.0% | 31.0% |
| 55 | Demopolis | 6,908 | 10.0% | 27.0% |
| 56 | Semmes | 5,626 | 6.0% | 19.0% |
| 57 | Opelika | 32,820 | 12.0% | 36.0% |
| 58 | Oxford | 22,063 | 9.0% | 26.0% |
| 59 | Glencoe | 5,353 | 7.0% | 23.0% |
| 60 | Clay | 10,273 | 7.0% | 23.0% |
| 61 | Mobile | 203,416 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| 62 | Jasper | 14,442 | 9.0% | 29.0% |
| 63 | Montevallo | 7,556 | 9.0% | 30.0% |
| 64 | Jacksonville | 14,437 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| 65 | Montgomery | 197,494 | 10.0% | 34.0% |
| 66 | Southside | 9,483 | 6.0% | 23.0% |
| 67 | Saraland | 16,404 | 7.0% | 26.0% |
| 68 | Millbrook | 17,189 | 9.0% | 31.0% |
| 69 | Satsuma | 6,822 | 7.0% | 28.0% |
| 70 | Fairfield | 9,728 | 6.0% | 26.0% |
| 71 | Cullman | 19,319 | 9.0% | 33.0% |
| 72 | Gardendale | 16,534 | 8.0% | 31.0% |
| 73 | Hartselle | 15,847 | 7.0% | 28.0% |
| 74 | Florence | 41,701 | 9.0% | 34.0% |
| 75 | Pleasant Grove | 9,442 | 4.0% | 24.0% |
| 76 | Tuscaloosa | 111,038 | 9.0% | 39.0% |
| 77 | Huntsville | 222,791 | 9.0% | 46.0% |
| 78 | Troy | 17,716 | 8.0% | 39.0% |
| 79 | Moody | 13,488 | 5.0% | 30.0% |
| 80 | Alabaster | 33,917 | 8.0% | 40.0% |
| 81 | Calera | 17,714 | 7.0% | 37.0% |
| 82 | Fultondale | 9,384 | 4.0% | 30.0% |
| 83 | Springville | 5,081 | 8.0% | 40.0% |
| 84 | Northport | 31,218 | 7.0% | 39.0% |
| 85 | Prattville | 39,482 | 6.0% | 37.0% |
| 86 | Irondale | 13,464 | 7.0% | 42.0% |
| 87 | Daphne | 29,453 | 6.0% | 43.0% |
| 88 | Gulf Shores | 16,401 | 3.0% | 39.0% |
| 89 | Orange Beach | 8,407 | 4.0% | 40.0% |
| 90 | Pelham | 24,827 | 5.0% | 46.0% |
| 91 | Vestavia Hills | 38,616 | 6.0% | 65.0% |
| 92 | Fairhope | 24,190 | 5.0% | 54.0% |
| 93 | Spanish Fort | 10,662 | 4.0% | 49.0% |
| 94 | Homewood | 27,829 | 5.0% | 71.0% |
| 95 | Trussville | 26,673 | 3.0% | 47.0% |
| 96 | Auburn | 80,594 | 4.0% | 64.0% |
| 97 | Chelsea | 16,260 | 2.0% | 49.0% |
| 98 | Madison | 60,106 | 3.0% | 64.0% |
| 99 | Helena | 21,769 | 2.0% | 51.0% |
| 100 | Hoover | 92,642 | 3.0% | 62.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 101 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
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.
The dumbest cities in Alabama are Tarrant, Atmore, Talladega, Opp, Russellville, Prichard, Lanett, Gadsden, Fort Payne, and Bay Minette. Not sold on Alabama? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
