SOUTHEAST ALABAMA OVERVIEW

 

The eight counties in Southeast Alabama are:  Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Pike.  There are 61 incorporated communities in the region. 

 

The Dothan MSA, consisting of Dale and Houston Counties, had a 1998 population of 134,749.  Dale and Houston Counties are the only Southeast Alabama counties that are part of a metropolitan area.  The remaining six counties are primarily rural.  County populations ranged from 15,836 (Henry County) to 85,877 (Houston County) in 1998.  The combined population for the eight counties was 310,908.

 

The region has a strong manufacturing base.  Products manufactured in the region include automotive components, agricultural products, primary and secondary wood products, processed foods, textiles, latex products, plastic products, signs and advertising specialties, engineered metal buildings, electronic and electrical equipment, truck trailers and campers.  Distribution and warehousing, service industries, primarily health services, and government are also big contributors to the economies of some of the counties.  The federal military is a strong component of government employment with Fort Rucker located in Dale County. 

 

Southeast Alabama has 1,324 miles of state and federal highways and 6,380 miles of county highways.  The Chattahoochee River provides water transportation on the eastern border of the region.  Daily commercial flights are provided from Dothan.  Each community in the region is within a 90-minute commute to a commercial airport located in Dothan, Ala., Montgomery, Ala., Columbus, Ga., Panama City, Fla., or Pensacola, Fla.  Two main line railroads and seven short line railroads serve the area.  The region has a total of 15 licensed airports.   

 

POPULATION TRENDS

 

                    

TotalPopulation          

NumberChange       

PercentChange        

1990          

299,715

1995          

309,181             

9,466           

3.2%

1998          

310,908                    

2000          

315,129             

5,948           

1.9%

2005          

330,665           

15,536           

5.0%

2010          

347,495           

16,830           

5.3%

2015          

364,252           

16,757           

5.1%

Sources:  U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population and
                Housing, and Estimates Division, 1999 release, and Alabama State
                Data Center, The University of Alabama.

ECONOMIC STRUCTURE

 

Employment Estimates, 1998

Total Nonagricultural Employment       

130,920

Goods Producing                            

38,420

Manufacturing                             

32,780

Service producing                           

92,490

Trade                                         

31,900

Government                                

24,090

Unemployment Rate, 1998

United States                                        

4.5%

Alabama                                               

4.2%

Southeast Alabama                                 

4.4%



Source:  Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

 

 

Industry Share of Total Employment,1997

 

 

 

Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

 

RESIDENT POPULATION

 

Counties

                                       

Population

                                   

1990                 

1998

 

Barbour                      

25,417              

26,895

Coffee                        

40,240              

42,436

Covington                  

36,478              

37,402

Dale                          

49,633              

48,872

Geneva                      

23,647              

24,944

Henry                        

15,374              

15,836

Houston                     

81,331              

85,877

Pike                          

27,595              

28,646

Southeast Alabama  

299,715             

310,908


Note: Includes federal military living in the area.  Does not include Americans living overseas.

 

Sources:   U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population and
                 Housing, and Estimates Division, 1999 release.

HOUSEHOLDS AND INCOME

 

                                                      

Total   

Percent

 

Number of Households, 1990       

112,654     

100.0

   Single Person Households            

26,971       

23.9

   Family Households                   

      Married couple families             

65,449       

58.1

      Male householders                     

3,152         

2.8

      Female householders                

14,231       

12.6

   Nonfamily Households                   

2,851         

2.5

Persons per Household, 1990  

2.72

Per Capita Income, 1997       

$18,794

Average Wage per Job, 1997    

$22,122

Sources:  U.S. Department of Commerce, 1990 Census of Population and
            Housing; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic
            Analysis; and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
            Development.

 

 

 

 

OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

 

Employed Persons 16 Years and Over:  142,300

                                                   

Percent of Total

Total Employed Persons                             

100.0

   Executive, administrative, managerial          

8.4

   Professional specialty                               

11.2

   Technologists, technicians incl. health        

3.2

   Sales                                                      

10.9

   Admin. support, including clerical             

13.0

   Private household occupations                    

0.6

   Protective service occupations                     

1.6

   Other service occupations                           

9.8

   Farming, forestry, fisheries                         

4.0

   Mechanics and repairers                            

5.2

   Construction trades                                    

4.5

   Precision production occupations                

4.0

   Machine operators, tenders, excl. precision

9.7

   Fabricators, assemblers, inspectors              

3.3

   Transportation occupations                         

4.2

   Material moving equipment operators  

1.1

   Handlers, equip. cleaners, helpers, laborers

5.2

 

Source:  1990 Census of Population and Housing, and Alabama Department
               of Industrial Relations, 1998.

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

 

Persons Aged 25 Years and Older:  187,302

 

Source:  1990 Census of Population and Housing.

LABOR MARKET DATA  

 

Workers Living in Southeast Alabama:  148,780

                        Percent of County's Workers

                         Who Work in the Southeast

Living in                             

Alabama Region

   Barbour County                                   

89.0

   Coffee County                                      

97.3

   Covington County                                

91.5

   Dale County                                        

97.5

   Geneva County                                    

96.1

   Henry County                                      

93.5

   Houston County                                   

96.0

   Pike County                                        

90.6

   Southeast Alabama                            

94.8

 Source:  1990 Census of Population and Housing, and Alabama Department
               of Industrial Relations, 1998.

 

TAX RATES

                 Ad valorem tax rate  Sales tax rate
     

                                   

(mills)      

(percent)

Alabama                              

6.5                

4.0

Barbour County                  

14.5                

1.0

Coffee County                     

15.5                

1.0

Covington County               

14.5                

2.0

Dale County                       

21.0                

2.0

Geneva County                   

23.0                

1.0

Henry County                     

27.5                

2.0

Houston County                  

16.0                

1.0

Pike County                              

19.45              

1.0

Note:  Within the county there may be additional municipal
          taxes.

Source:  Alabama Department of Revenue, Property Tax Division, and Sales
              Tax Division, 1999.

SELECTED WAGE RATES

 

                                                  Median (per hour)

Assemblers expt Mach., Elect., & Precision  

$8.58

Automotive Mechanics                               

11.77

Bookkeeping, Acct., & Auditing Clerks         

10.08

Cashiers                                                    

6.07

Comp. Operators, expt Peripheral Equip.      

10.90

Cooks, Restaurant                                       

6.84

Drafters                                                   

14.14

Electricians                                              

13.34

General Office Clerks                                  

8.55

Guards and Watch Guards                           

7.19

 

Janitors and Cleaners                                 

6.62

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners                

6.23

Maintenance Repairers, General Utility        

10.72

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks                  

10.23

Purchasing Managers                                

19.07

Receptionists and Information Clerks            

7.95

Salespersons, Retail                                    

8.11

Secretaries, except Legal and Medical            

9.63

Supervisors of Helpers and Laborers            

17.34

Truck Drivers, Light                                    

9.06

Note:  These wage rates are the median listed with the
           Alabama Employment Service.  They are not to be
           construed as the prevailing wage.

 

Source:  Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, R&S Division.
              1997 Alabama Wage Survey.

NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS

 

 

RETAIL TRADE

 

Retail Sales, 1998 (Thousands of Dollars)

 

    Retail Total                               

$2,652,007

     Food                                             

387,707

     General merchandise                      

599,892

     Apparel                                           

53,402

     Furniture, furnishings, etc.             

105,315

     Automotive                                     

580,014

     Gasoline service stations                   

14,707

     Lumber and building materials         

281,127

     Hardware and farm impl’s                 

14,830

     Eating places                                 

212,473

     Drug stores                                      

14,089

     All other retail                               

142,716

     Nonretail and unclassified               

245,735

 

Retail Sales per Person, 1998 (Current Dollars)

     Southeast Alabama                            

$8,530

     Alabama                                            

8,709

Source:  Center for Business and Economic Research,  The University of

             Alabama.

 

 

TRANSPORTATION FACTS

 

Highway Mileage

     State System                                      

1,343

     County System                                   

6,394

Source:  Alabama Department of Transportation, 1998.

 

Rail

     CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern

       provide main line rail service which connects

       to seven branch line railroads.

 

Source:  Alber Leland Publishing, 1999.

 

State Licensed Airports

     Number                                  15
     Largest Airport                        Dothan
          Longest Runway (feet)          8,498 X 150
          Runway Lights                   dusk to dawn

 

Source:  Alabama Department of Aeronautics, Aeronautical Chart
               1999-2000.

 

 

 

ALABAMA INTERSTATE ACCESS