Signature · 9 LILA tracts (30% of tracts)
Etowah County, AL
Etowah County's signature pressure is desert tracts: 9 LILA tracts (30% of the book) alongside 40.7% low-access.
- 40.7%
- low-access pop.
- 9
- food-desert tracts
- 15.7%
- on SNAP
- 103K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Etowah County, AL
LA-SEVERE · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-OK · DENSITY-DENSE
- LA-SEVERE 40.7% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +18.6 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 9 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-HEAVY 15.7% SNAP
- VEH-OK 4.4% no vehicle
- DENSITY-DENSE 30% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Macon County (+ 1.2 pts)
Upper-band low-access
Etowah County sits in the upper national band (40.7%, #371 of 3,079) with 9 LILA tracts.
- #371
- national by low-access %
- #4
- in AL
- 15
- low-access tracts
- 14K
- food-desert residents
Upper-band counties often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts. Low access = >1 mile urban / >10 miles rural.
Signature read: 9 LILA tracts (30% of tracts) .
How Etowah County compares nationally
Etowah County sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 40.7% low-access share outpaces 88% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #375 most-affected nationwide.
Etowah County's elevated USDA tier split
30 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 9 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Etowah County has 21 urban and 9 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Etowah County vs nearby high low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Alabama, not a full county-board reprint
- Bullock
Bullock 68.5%
68.5 % low-access
- Wilcox
Wilcox 42%
42 % low-access
- Macon
Macon 41.9%
41.9 % low-access
- Etowah
Etowah 40.7%
40.7 % low-access
- Perry
Perry 39.5%
39.5 % low-access
- Clarke
Clarke 39.4%
39.4 % low-access
- DeKalb 0
DeKalb 0%
0 % low-access
FARA 2019 · elevated low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 30 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 104,430 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 15 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 9 |
| Low-Access Population | 42,464 |
| Low-Access Share | 40.7%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 13,991 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 103,105 |
| Median Household Income | $54,563 |
| Poverty Rate | 16.9%above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 6,173 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 15.7%above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 4.4%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.5% |
Thick SNAP store book in Etowah County
Etowah County has 129 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 6 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 63 locations (49% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 63
- 1st super store, boaz
- 278 grocery, gadsden
- 411 maverix 1, rainbow city
- a&a mountain top food mart, attalla
- attalla citgo mart, attalla
- attalla marathon, attalla
- attalla marathon, attalla
- bama kwik shop, gadsden
- c & n fuels, boaz
- campus jet pep, gadsen
- chevron 52, attalla
- circle k 2723649, gadsden
- circle k 2723674, gadsden
- circle k 2723838, gadsden
- cleve mart, attalla
- coosa corner 3, glencoe
- discount food mart, gadsden
- dnh quickstop, boaz
- eagle mart, gadsden
- express mart 50, rainbow city
- express mart#38, gadsden
- exxon tiger mart, attalla
- flowers bakery outlet 162, gadsden
- food mart, gadsden
- fuel city, altoona
- gadsden food mart, gadsden
- grub mart, gadsden
- ivalee stop, attalla
- kjn, llc, altoona
- litchfield corner 1, gadsden
- mapco express, inc. 5143, rainbow city
- mapco express, inc. 5146, rainbow city
- marathon, boaz
- marathon al 0030, attalla
- minimart #27, gadsden
- murphy express 8622, gadsden
- murphy usa 8556, attalla
- om mart, gadsden
- onestop services, boaz
- petro gadsden 352, gadsden
- racetrac2608 2608, gadsden
- raceway 7008, attalla
- rainbow food mart 109, gadsden
- rainbow food mart 125, gadsden
- rainbow shell mart, gadsden
- ready mart llc, rainbow city
- rocky ford general store, piedmont
- sde shell, gadsden
- shell food mart, gadsden
- smile express, attalla
- smile express 101, gadsden
- southside shell food & fuel inc, gadsden
- spring mart, attalla
- tolberts beverage & variety store, gadsden
- tang mart attala 04, attalla
- tang mart glencoe, gadsden
- tang mart hokes bluff, gadsden
- texaco food mart, gadsden
- the grub mart 07, southside
- tidmore bend grocery, gadsden
- tiger mart exxon 2, gadsden
- valley chevron, attalla
- west hood kwik stop llc, gadsden
Combination Grocery/Other · 41
- cvs pharmacy 4823, rainbow city
- cvs pharmacy 4845, gadsden
- cvs pharmacy 4849, gadsden
- dollar general 11201, altoona
- dollar general 1462, gadsden
- dollar general 1671, snead
- dollar general 19396, attalla
- dollar general 2482, gadsden
- dollar general 2483, gadsden
- dollar general 2514, rainbow city
- dollar general 2774, boaz
- dollar general 2938, gadsden
- dollar general 3867, attalla
- dollar general 4172, hokes bluff
- dollar general 4611, southside
- dollar general 4927, gadsden
- dollar general 8697, gadsden
- dollar general 9180, attalla
- dollartree 10178, gadsden
- dollar general 11277, gadsden
- dollar general 15604, glencoe
- dollar general 15655, gadsden
- dollar general 18278, attalla
- dollar general 19962, boaz
- dollar general 21117, rainbow city
- dollar general 22005, glencoe
- dollar general 22203, altoona
- dollar general 23434, gadsden
- dollar general 24260, rainbow city
- dollar general 7417, gadsden
- dollar general store 16338, attalla
- dollar tree 2899, gadsden
- dollar tree 468, gadsden
- dollar tree 5373, rainbow city
- dollar tree 6292, gadsden
- family dollar store 870, gadsden
- family dollar 13788, altoona
- tienda rafaleno, gadsden
- tienda y tortilleria la bendicion, attalia
- walgreens 7716, rainbow city
- walgreens 7717, gadsden
Medium Grocery Store · 7
- burton food store, southside
- la herradura tienda mexicana & taqueria 2, gadsden
- lil burtons food store 725, boaz
- los hermanos, gadsden
- paul's mountain meats, gadsden
- tienda latina, gadsden
- wow discount grocery, rainbow city
Small Grocery Store · 6
- apple a day, gadsden
- la tienda esperanza, gadsden
- quickety split mini market, gadsden
- rainbow city international market, rainbow city
- savvy mart discount grocery, attalla
- tienda guatemala vargas, gadsden
Super Store · 6
- johnson's giant foods inc. #2, gadsden
- johnson's giant foods, inc. #1, attalla
- johnson's giant foods, inc. #4, gadsden
- osborn brother's food service, gadsden
- walmart supercenter 301, gadsden
- walmart supercenter 316, attalla
Supermarket · 6
- aldi 70242, rainbow city
- aldi 71089 71089, gadsden
- food city 502, gadsden
- fresh value gadsden 100, gadsden
- piggly wiggly 147, gadsden
- publix 1476, rainbow city
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Alabama
One of 66 counties in Alabama, 6 are shown here.
Compare Etowah County vs Autauga County → · All Alabama counties →
Counties near Etowah County's elevated low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Etowah County, both outside Alabama so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside AL (40.7% here).
- Washington County, FL · 40.7% low-access
- Washington County, FL · 40.7% low-access
- Torrance County, NM · 40.7% low-access
- Torrance County, NM · 40.7% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside AL (15.7% here).
- Miller County, AR · 15.7% SNAP
- Miller County, AR · 15.7% SNAP
- Randolph County, AR · 15.7% SNAP
- Randolph County, AR · 15.7% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Etowah County inside a higher low-access state context
Etowah County sits inside Alabama (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Etowah County, AL are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 01055. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.