Gulf Shores is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Alabama. With a population of 17,431 people and four associated neighborhoods, Gulf Shores is the 47th largest community in Alabama. Much of the housing stock in Gulf Shores was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Gulf Shores economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Gulf Shores, where the median household income is $78,188.00. Gulf Shores real estate is some of the most expensive in Alabama, although Gulf Shores house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Unlike some cities, Gulf Shores isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Gulf Shores are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Gulf Shores is a city of sales and office workers, service providers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Gulf Shores who work in sales jobs (14.09%), management occupations (12.87%), and office and administrative support (12.25%). One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 19.82% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Another notable thing is that Gulf Shores is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the city’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live. The city is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Gulf Shores has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Gulf Shores a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here. Gulf Shores is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. Gulf Shores is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.The education level of Gulf Shores citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 39.85% of adults in Gulf Shores have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Gulf Shores in 2022 was $45,509, which is wealthy relative to Alabama, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $182,036 for a family of four. However, Gulf Shores contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Gulf Shores is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Gulf Shores home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Gulf Shores residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Gulf Shores include Irish, German, English, Italian, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Gulf Shores is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
