Leighton, Alabama

Leighton, Alabama
—  Town  —
Location in Colbert County and the state of Alabama
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Alabama
County Colbert
Area
 • Total 1 sq mi (2.6 km2)
 • Land 1 sq mi (2.6 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation 568 ft (173 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 849
 • Density 849/sq mi (326.5/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 35646
Area code(s) 256
FIPS code 01-42160
GNIS feature ID 0152020

Leighton is a town in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". At the 2000 census the population was 849. Leighton has been hit by several tornadoes in the 2000s including a damaging EF2 on May 8, 2008 that was caught on tape flipping over many cars and damaging buildings, the town is also the birthplace of American soul musician Percy Sledge.

Contents

Geography

Leighton is located at (34.699642, -87.530699)[1].

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 849 people, 360 households, and 235 families residing in the town. The population density was 857.8 people per square mile (331.1/km²). There were 414 housing units at an average density of 418.3 per square mile (161.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 44.41% White, 55.12% Black or African American and 0.47% Native American. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 360 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 75.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $20,500, and the median income for a family was $28,036. Males had a median income of $27,625 versus $18,393 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,680. About 22.7% of families and 26.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 25.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Leighton is served by three schools in the Colbert County School System:

References