County food-access profile · Alabama
Etowah County, AL
Etowah County sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 40.7%
- low-access pop.
- 9
- food-desert tracts
- 15.7%
- on SNAP
- 103K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
40.7% of Etowah County residents live in a low-access area, and 9 of its 30 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 15
- low-access tracts
- 14K
- food-desert residents
- 4.4%
- households, no vehicle
- 16.9%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Etowah County carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 40.7% is well above the national share. 15 of the county's 30 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 42,464 people. 9 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 13,991 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
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: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 30 census tracts in Etowah County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Etowah County vs. other Alabama counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Alabama
- Etowah
Etowah County, AL
40.7 % low-access
- Autauga
Autauga County, AL
33.9 % low-access
- Baldwin
Baldwin County, AL
25.1 % low-access
- Barbour
Barbour County, AL
20.5 % low-access
- Bibb 1.6
Bibb County, AL
1.6 % low-access
- Blount 6.8
Blount County, AL
6.8 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| 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% |
About 15.7% of Etowah County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 40.7% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 15.7% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 6,173 households here.
- 4.4% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 9 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Etowah County
well above the national share
9 of Etowah County's 30 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 30.0% of all its tracts.
A further 6 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 15.
An estimated 42,464 residents, roughly 40.7% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 13,991 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 15 tracts (50.0%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers 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 retailers.
Other Counties in Alabama
Compare Etowah County vs Autauga County → · All Alabama counties →
Food access nationally, Alabama in context
Etowah County sits inside Alabama (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
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.