Flooring across Alabama
Nine cities, nine different housing stocks, and nine different answers to the same question. Every figure here is that city's own Census number.
Oldest housing stock first
Median year built and the share of homes predating 1940, by city, alongside the surrounding county. The gap between the two columns on the right is the story in half these places.
| City | Median year built | Built before 1940 | County median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 1965 | 25.9% | Jefferson County — 1974 |
| Mobile | 1975 | 13.0% | Mobile County — 1980 |
| Decatur | 1977 | 8.3% | Morgan County — 1983 |
| Montgomery | 1978 | 10.3% | Montgomery County — 1980 |
| Dothan | 1982 | 6.9% | Houston County — 1984 |
| Huntsville | 1985 | 4.7% | Madison County — 1992 |
| Tuscaloosa | 1988 | 7.7% | Tuscaloosa County — 1989 |
| Hoover | 1994 | 0.8% | Shelby County — 1996 |
| Daphne | 1995 | 2.3% | Baldwin County — 1999 |
| Madison | 2001 | 0.5% | Madison County — 1992 |
| Auburn | 2001 | 2.5% | Lee County — 1995 |
Housing figures for this page: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034 and B25035.
Pick your city
Each page covers that city's housing stock, what it does to a floor, and installed cost ranges adjusted for regional labor.
Why the city matters more than you would think
Birmingham’s median house was built in 1965 with 25.9% predating 1940. Madison’s was built in 2001, with 53.3% of it going up since 2000. Those are the same state and a twenty-eight-year gap, and they are not the same job.
Madison splits the other way from the state as a whole: 53.3% of its housing has gone up since 2000 against 28.6% statewide, and half a percent predates 1940 against 8.3%. It is the newest housing in Alabama and it has the fewest old-floor questions of anywhere here.
Questions people actually ask
Does a clean termite letter mean my subfloor is fine?
No, and it is not meant to. The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Report is a visual, non-invasive inspection — the inspector reports what can be seen from the crawl space and around the structure, and nobody lifts a floor to look underneath it. A clean report is good news about what was visible. It is silent about the decking under your kitchen until something exposes it.
What should a flooring quote say about damaged subfloor?
It should say what happens if soft or damaged decking is found once the old floor is up: the per-sheet or per-square-foot replacement rate, whether joist repair is in scope, and who authorises the extra work. In a state where every county sits in the heaviest termite zone, a quote that does not address it is not a cheaper quote — it is one that will be renegotiated on the day, from a much weaker position.
Which floors survive a flood and which do not?
Tile and rigid-core vinyl plank can usually be dried out and kept if the water is removed quickly and what is underneath dries too. Carpet and pad are almost always a loss. Laminate has a wood-fibre core that swells and does not come back. Engineered wood depends entirely on how fast it was dried and whether it was glued down. This is the main reason the material answer on the coast differs from the rest of the state.
Is there hardwood under my carpet in Alabama?
Most likely in Birmingham, where 25.9% of the housing predates 1940, and in the older parts of Mobile at 13% and Montgomery at 10.3%. In Madison and Auburn, where roughly half the housing has gone up since 2000, there is essentially nothing under the carpet but subfloor. Lifting a corner in a closet takes two minutes and settles it.
Do I need a licensed contractor for flooring work in Alabama?
Alabama licenses residential home builders through the Home Builders Licensure Board, and the threshold and scope are worth checking with the board for your specific job rather than taking a contractor's word for it. For most floor covering work the checks that actually predict how a job goes are liability insurance, references from jobs at least two years old, and a written contract that covers the subfloor question above.