Health care · Metro area · Alabama
Medical and dental practices in the Decatur, AL metro area
How the Decatur, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for medical and dental practices: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #84 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama
- Listings
- 320
- 51 chain locations (16%)
- Official establishments
- 174
- −5.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $66.7M
- On medical and dental services · $1,064 a household
- Spending per listing
- $208K
- 37% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 51.1
- 40% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 160,326
- +2.5% since 2020
See the medical and dental practices around any address in the Decatur metro area
The site report maps the medical and dental practices on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Decatur metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Household spending on medical and dental services in the Decatur metro area comes to about $66.7M a year: $1,064 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That is about $208K of household spending for each practice on map listings, 37% above the U.S. figure of $152K.
The Decatur metro area has 320 medical and dental practices on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 16% of them, against 11% across the U.S. That is 51.1 per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 84.5.
Official counts show 174 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Decatur metro area in 2023, down 5.6% from 2019. That is one for every 360 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. Another 74 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $839K have gone to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Decatur metro area.
Population estimates show the Decatur metro area grew 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for medical and dental practices in the Decatur metro area is 64 (upper middle), #84 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Decatur metro area compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the medical and dental practices counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Decatur metro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 51.1 | 64.4 | 84.5 |
| Spending per listing | $208K | $163K | $152K |
| Households per official establishment | 360 | 343 | 270 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −5.6% | +1.1% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.5% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,064 | $1,050 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $68,116 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 174−5.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,364
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $87.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 74Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 32051 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 437The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $839K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Decatur metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Decatur metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 160,326+2.5% since 2020
- Households
- 62,667
- Median age
- 41.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,270 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 124
- Median household income
- $68,116+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $87,472
- Median home value
- $202,500
- Jobs located here
- 58,542
- Daytime population
- 149,857Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Decatur metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the medical and dental practices on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Decatur metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardDoctors, dentists and clinics across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for medical and dental practices, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Decatur metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Tuscaloosa, AL | 65 | 530 | 50.1 | $205K | +2.9% | #77 of 387 |
| 2Decatur, AL | 64 | 320 | 51.1 | $208K | +2.5% | #84 of 387 |
| 3Auburn-Opelika, AL | 56 | 567 | 74.0 | $141K | +7.1% | #145 of 387 |
| 4Huntsville, AL | 54 | 1,588 | 77.1 | $155K | +12.5% | #157 of 387 |
| 5Montgomery, AL | 53 | 886 | 58.5 | $178K | +0.9% | #162 of 387 |
| 6Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 49 | 847 | 85.9 | $132K | +14.8% | #201 of 387 |
| 7Mobile, AL | 48 | 995 | 61.5 | $164K | −0.7% | #206 of 387 |
| 8Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 44 | 427 | 67.2 | $152K | +3.5% | #238 of 387 |
| 9Birmingham, AL | 39 | 3,583 | 77.1 | $144K | +1.4% | #282 of 387 |
| Columbus, GA-AL | 37 | 801 | 62.8 | $161K | −1.3% | #299 of 387 |
Other business types in the Decatur metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
- Doctors, dentists and clinics64
- Dentists and orthodontists62
- Primary care and pediatrics37
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors45
- Physical therapy58
- Optometrists and eye care45
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many medical and dental practices are in the Decatur, AL metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 320 medical and dental practices in the Decatur metro area. 51 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 174 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023, down 5.6% from 2019. Official counts list 74 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Decatur, AL metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $66.7M a year, or $1,064 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 320 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $208K per practice. It is estimated from the incomes of the 62,667 households in the Decatur metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Decatur, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for medical and dental practices?
The Decatur metro area has 51.1 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $208K, 37% above the U.S. figure of $152K. At the U.S. ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, the Decatur metro area would have about 437, against 320 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 360 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Decatur, AL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Decatur metro area at 160,326 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 62,667 households. The median household income in the Decatur metro area is $68,116 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.1% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Decatur metro area scores 64 for medical and dental practices (upper middle), #84 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Decatur metro area. It maps the medical and dental practices on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for medical and dental practices · All 56 business types in the Decatur metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Decatur metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Decatur metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.