Jessica HassanMuscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, while “the Shoals” describes a wider area with several separate communities. That distinction becomes practical when you arrange household collection, register for an activity or choose a music stop. I would use the actual department and destination—not the shared regional name—to organize the first few weeks of a move.
Map sources and notes
Does opening a utility account also order my garbage cart?
No. The city’s Public Works FAQ says to contact Public Works if the residence has no container; the Electric Department does not make that request for you. For a damaged cart, call and leave it at the curb for the department to assess. The published contact is 256-386-9250, between 6 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Make the cart a separate item on your move-in list. Ask the seller or landlord whether one remains at the property, then describe the actual situation to Public Works. Do not assume that paying a utility deposit, changing an account name or seeing a neighboring cart establishes that your household’s request is complete.
The same FAQ describes weekly residential garbage collection and weekly residential brush/trash routes, with the day determined by area. Ask for your address’s day and the holiday arrangement rather than copy a nearby street’s routine. Collection frequency does not establish which materials are accepted.
How do I join a recreation program—or reserve space for my own event?
The Parks and Recreation FAQ directs program registration to the Gattman Park administrative office or its online system. First-time child participants need a birth certificate for age verification. Facility reservations instead require an office form and fee, subject to the department’s own programming. Published office hours are Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; weekends are for rentals.
The department’s RecDesk contact page lists 996 Gattman Park Drive, Muscle Shoals, AL 35661 and 256-386-9270. Its navigation separates programs, facilities, memberships and the calendar. A facility appearing in that directory is not confirmation that your date is reserved.
| What you are arranging | What to establish before making plans |
|---|---|
| A child’s first program | Correct program, age documentation, registration window and available space |
| A pavilion, field or gym for an event | Exact facility, date, department approval, current fee and reservation confirmation |
| A weekend visit to handle paperwork | Whether staff can handle that task; rental access is not ordinary office opening |
For a family gathering, settle the reservation before sending invitations that name a particular space. For a program, check the current listing rather than assume last season’s age group or timetable carries forward. These are different transactions even when both begin at the same recreation office.
Which guide helps me explore beyond the moving errands?
The first Shoals music-day guide compares FAME in Muscle Shoals, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia. It keeps the destinations, tour formats and booking questions separate, which is more useful than treating the regional music story as one attraction.
If work or family travel shapes your home search, the MSL flight-day and relocation guide walks through round-trip dates, connections and the whole ground journey. Use the airline’s actual booking result for travel; a route announcement is not an available itinerary.
The Colbert County guide connects the wider school and property-record questions. I can help you compare homes around those everyday destinations while the city, district and providers confirm what applies to each address.
What do the numbers say?
Population U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025; resident population as of July 1, 2025. ACS sampling margins of error do not apply. Median age U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±2.7 years. Households U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±414 housing units. Households correspond to occupied housing units. Housing units U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±446 housing units. Owner-occupied homes U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±426 housing units. Renter-occupied homes U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±398 housing units. Median household income U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±8296 USD/year. Income is in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars. Vacant housing units U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimate. Universe: Housing units. Unit: housing units. Vacant is a Census housing-status category, not a count of homes advertised for sale or rent. Published 90% margin of error: +/-194 housing units. Median owner-occupied home value U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimate. Universe: Owner-occupied housing units. Unit: USD. Survey-reported value of owner-occupied homes, not current listings, appraisals or sale prices. Published 90% margin of error: +/-19909 USD. Median gross rent U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimate. Universe: Renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent. Unit: USD/month. Gross rent includes contract rent and applicable tenant-paid utilities and fuels; not current advertised rents. Published 90% margin of error: +/-75 USD/month. Owner costs with mortgage U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimate. Universe: Owner-occupied housing units with a mortgage. Unit: USD/month. Median selected monthly owner costs include mortgage payments and applicable taxes, insurance, utilities, fuels and fees; not mortgage payment alone. Published 90% margin of error: +/-58 USD/month. Owner costs without mortgage U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimate. Universe: Owner-occupied housing units without a mortgage. Unit: USD/month. Median selected monthly owner costs include applicable taxes, insurance, utilities, fuels and fees. Published 90% margin of error: +/-41 USD/month. Renters spending 30%+ on housing U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimate. Universe: Cash-rent renter households with gross rent as a percentage of income computed. Unit: percent. Calculated share with gross rent at least 30% of household income. Excludes households whose percentage cannot be computed. Derived margin of error is unavailable; no unrelated margin is substituted. Formula: 100*(B25070_007E+B25070_008E+B25070_009E+B25070_010E)/(B25070_001E-B25070_011E). Numerator: 560; denominator: 2144. Mean commute U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year Data Profile DP03_0025E. Mean one-way travel time to work, in minutes; workers age 16 and over who did not work from home. Retained accepted source run profile-31190; source SHA256 097b9dc1979c94ef809352561e32e389771b032607396d637bc4de7c701f8dea, line 378. This reuses accepted source evidence, not a new API fetch. Published 90% margin of error: +/-1.9 minutes. Survey travel time is not a current traffic estimate or a route to a named employer. Population and ACS measures may cover different periods; the source notes identify each one. Community averages do not describe an individual household or establish the condition or suitability of a particular property. Estimates and margins are retained without replacing missing or annotated values with zero.Muscle Shoals Facts
People
Homes
Housing costs
Calculated measures
Travel
Income
Sources & notes
Continue your area search
Explore homes in the Muscle Shoals area search. This map-based search is not an exact Census or service boundary, a complete inventory claim or confirmation of services.
Explore source-qualified locations within 20 miles of this locality reference point, including places across county lines. Red +: locality reference point. Bands: 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 straight-line miles, not travel times or boundaries. Pins show recorded or representative locations; check place pages for access details. 39 source-qualified records within 20 miles. No mapped records match these filters. Try a wider distance or another category.Explore nearby
Browse related locality records
These records share an existing locality tag. They are listed alphabetically, not ranked by distance or suitability.
Bay Ridge – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Brentwood – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Brentwood West – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Briarwood – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Brookhaven – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Creekside – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Deerfield – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Eastwood Estates – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Forest Hills – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Fox Hollow – Muscle Shoals – Colbert
Want help connecting the details?
Tell me about your Muscle Shoals buying, selling or relocation plans. I can help organize the home search around the routines and property questions that matter to you, while the responsible offices and providers confirm the address-specific details.
Sources and review notes
Official resources reviewed October 31, 2026. Undated pages are guidance checked on that date; hours, fees and program arrangements may change. The 2024 Census map provides geographic context, not current parcel, school or utility boundaries.