10 Alabama Towns That Are Growing So Fast It's Out of Control

Ten Alabama towns growing faster than their schools, sewers and roads, ranked on the Census Bureau's newest count. Alabama grew 3.3% since the 2020 census; every town on this list grew at least 17%, and several have already tried to put on the brakes. HOW THE LIST WAS MADE Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates (July 1, 2025) against the April 2020 base, redrawn to today's city limits, for every Alabama town of 5,000 or more, ranked by percent growth. Semmes (+21%) is set aside: it added four people in the last year and its new-home permits fell from 166 to 32. "Out of control" means the record: what each town's own schools, sewer plant, council or planning board has said or done. Every number was checked against a saved copy of its source. Every picture shows the town it names: film shot in the towns (Creative Commons), Creative Commons and public-domain photographs, the real pages the narration quotes, and USDA aerials of the same ground in two years. Stock footage appears only for a classroom, a council room or traffic, marked as illustrative. Nothing is AI-generated. Which town should have been on this list? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS 0:00 A school, a sewer plant and one planning night 1:07 How the list was made 1:49 #10 Springville, St. Clair County · +17% 3:06 #9 Lincoln, Talladega County · +18% 4:25 #8 Madison, Madison and Limestone counties · +19% 6:06 #7 Odenville, St. Clair County · +22% 7:20 #6 Pike Road, Montgomery County · +26% 8:50 #5 Athens, Limestone County · +35% 10:38 #4 Margaret, St. Clair County · +38% 12:06 #3 Foley, Baldwin County · +46% 14:28 #2 Loxley, Baldwin County · +72% 16:49 #1 Triana, Madison County · +81% 19:20 The next five, and who hit the brakes 20:30 Owens Cross Roads, Harvest, Silverhill, Semmes 21:19 All ten SOURCES U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates and methodology; 2010 census; Building Permits Survey; 2025 Gazetteer. Springville: ABC 33/40, Nov. 2022 and Nov. 2024; US Infrastructure, Oct. 2025; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Lincoln: ABC 33/40, Sept. 2023 and June 9, 2026; City of Lincoln; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Madison: Madison City Schools; 256 Today; WAFF 48, Nov. 2025; ALDOT, Aug. 2026; City of Madison plan; City of Huntsville. Odenville: ABC 33/40, July 2025 and Nov. 2022; St. Clair County Schools; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Pike Road: WSFA 12 News, Oct. 2021, May 2024 and Aug. 2025; WAKA 8, Aug. 2026; Pike Road Schools; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Athens: The News Courier, May 15, 2026; WAFF 48, March and Sept. 2025; WHNT News 19, 2024; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Margaret: WBRC 6, Sept. 2024 and May 2025; The Trussville Tribune, Jan. 2022; City of Margaret agenda, April 2026; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Foley: FOX10 News, May 16, 2026; Gulf Coast Media, Aug. 2024 and Oct. 2025; City of Foley, May 2025, and its Fall 2025 newsletter; Gulf Shores News, Aug. 2025; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Loxley: Gulf Coast Media, 2019 to 2024; City of Loxley planning commission agendas, Jan. and April 2026; FOX10 News, April 2024 and March 17, 2026; Encyclopedia of Alabama. Triana: Town of Triana: 2022 moratorium ordinance, Comprehensive Plan Score Card (Aug. 2025), planning commission minutes (May and June 2026); 256 Today; Encyclopedia of Alabama. The next five: ABC 33/40 (Chelsea); The Fairhope Times; Gulf Coast Media (Robertsdale); City of Opelika and the Opelika Observer. CREDITS Video (YouTube, CC BY): Orange Beach Alabama Living (Foley, 2024-2026) · THE NEXT ADVENTURE (Athens, 2021) · Manan P (Madison, 2024-2025) · GrafixGuy (Pike Road, 2021-2024) · am honda (Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Lincoln, 2014) · Adam Jusino (Logan Martin Lake, 2023). NASA Marshall Space Flight Center drone video (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). Photographs (Wikimedia Commons, Flickr; licence: photographers): CC BY 2.0: Unskinny Boppy; Bill Grantham; nola.agent CC BY 3.0: Infrogmation of New Orleans CC BY 4.0: John Phelan CC BY-SA 2.0: formulanone; Ken Lund; ShanMcG213; FanFan61618; Harley Flowers; Martin Lewison CC BY-SA 3.0: Chris Pruitt; John Phelan; Rivers A. Langley; Dpepper73; Timdwilliamson; TheCustomOfLife; Infrogmation of New Orleans; Soulpatroller CC BY-SA 4.0: Chris Pruitt; John Phelan; Windyshadow32; M15S.M0U53.0; Liza6066; Timdwilliamson; Kevin C Magee 101234; Edith Foster; Stratosphere; (WT-de) Mistoffeles; Spellck CC0: TheWrenley Public domain: CBS Television; Carol M. Highsmith; Federal Highway Administration; Lock-Up (1961 TV); NARA and pre-1930 postcards; Nyttend; USDA Illustrative stock footage (Pexels licence): Emmett Loverde, Pavel Danilyuk, Saul, Werner Pfennig, Yan Krukau. Aerial photographs: USDA NAIP (public domain). Pages shown on screen: the saved copies of the sources listed above. Maps: U.S. Census Bureau state outlines (schematic). Thumbnails: frames of "Discover Foley Alabama's Most AFFORDABLE New Construction Homes: Aberdeen Subdivision", Orange Beach Alabama Living (YouTube, 2024), CC BY.