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Town
Appalachian Foothills

Sylvania – DeKalb County

Sylvania is a town in DeKalb County, Alabama. Its town park sits by DeKalb County Public Fishing Lake, but nearby does not mean managed together. That distinction matters when you reserve a pavilion, plan a fishing visit or ask who handles a service at a home. I would choose the responsible office before making a payment or building a day around assumed access.

Sylvania: town boundary from the 2024 U.S. Census Bureau, with the same boundary highlighted in a Northern Alabama locator inset. North is up. Editorial area: Appalachian Foothills. Not a property or service-boundary map.
Map sources and notes
Town boundary depiction: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 TIGER/Line. Editorial area: Appalachian Foothills. Not a property, school or utility boundary; confirm current jurisdiction and annexations with the responsible authority. View the full-size boundary map.

Which town-park pavilion rental fits the gathering?

The town’s Community page lists park hours of 7 a.m.–10 p.m. and separate family and corporate rental prices. Its linked pavilion agreement identifies the Ruritan Pavilion separately from the smaller pavilions and stage. The published choices below were checked October 31, 2026; confirm the current quote and available space with the town.

Space and duration Family rate Corporate rate
Ruritan Pavilion, four hours $35 $55
Ruritan Pavilion, all day $50 $100
Small pavilion or stage, four hours $25 $50
Small pavilion or stage, all day $40 $75

The agreement requires a responsible adult at least 21 to sign and remain for the entire rental. Payment in full secures the reservation. For four-hour rentals, setup may begin no earlier than half an hour before the stated start, and the premises must be vacated by the stated end. Build cleanup into the plan rather than assume the last guest’s departure ends your responsibility.

The form also describes a $15 excessive-cleanup charge refundable if that cleanup is not needed; ask how it is collected in the current total. Alcohol is prohibited on park property. Use only the facilities agreed in writing and paid for, and read the complete agreement before signing. The town’s main number is 256-638-2604; ask for pavilion rentals rather than rely on conflicting extension numbers across the page and form.

Does a town pavilion reservation include the fishing lake?

No such inclusion should be assumed. The town’s lake page explicitly says the town does not oversee DeKalb County Lake. The state’s DeKalb County Public Fishing Lake page gives 720 County Road 194, Sylvania, AL 35988 and lake-manager phone 256-657-1300. That is the contact for a lake outing, separate from a town-park rental.

The state lists sunrise-to-sunset operation, closed Wednesdays from February 1–June 30, closed Monday–Wednesday from July 1–November 27, and closed November 28–January 31. Confirm the actual day’s opening before traveling; the page expressly allows changes. Do not substitute the town park’s 10 p.m. closing time for the lake’s schedule.

The state lake page lists a $5 fishing permit for anglers 12 and older and a $10 boat-rental permit with the daily fishing permit still required. Fishing-license requirements are separate. Ask the manager what applies to the actual anglers and boat plan, and check the state public-lake requirements before paying. A pavilion reservation is not fishing permission, and the state program’s boating arrangements are for fishing rather than general recreational cruising.

Are water, sewer and garbage all handled by Town Hall?

The town’s utility directory separates them: water questions go to the Waterworks Board of Dutton at 256-638-2119, sewer questions to Sylvania Town Hall, and garbage collection inside Sylvania’s limits to the City of Rainsville at 256-638-6331. Confirm each service at the property; the directory is not a promise that every address has every connection.

For town business, the municipal contact page lists 22957 Sylvania Avenue South, Sylvania, AL 35988 and Monday–Friday hours of 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Keep that destination separate from the lake. The DeKalb County guide adds property and school-system handoffs, and I can help connect those practical answers with a home shortlist.

What do the numbers say?

Sylvania Facts

People

Population
1853
Median age
34.3 years

Homes

Households
693
Housing units
784
Vacant housing units
91
Owner-occupied homes
463
Renter-occupied homes
230

Housing costs

Median owner-occupied home value
$161500
Median gross rent
$692 /mo
Owner costs with mortgage
$1177 /mo
Owner costs without mortgage
$366 /mo

Calculated measures

Renters spending 30%+ on housing
69.897959%

Travel

Mean commute
28 min

Income

Median household income
$56161
Sources & notes

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.

Source data

Median age

U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±3 years.

Source data

Households

U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±162 housing units. Households correspond to occupied housing units.

Source data

Housing units

U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±176 housing units.

Source data

Owner-occupied homes

U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±111 housing units.

Source data

Renter-occupied homes

U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±110 housing units.

Source data

Median household income

U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimate. Published 90% margin of error: ±11010 USD/year. Income is in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars.

Source data

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: +/-49 housing units.

Source definition

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: +/-34882 USD.

Source data

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: +/-126 USD/month.

Source data

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: +/-185 USD/month.

Source data

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: +/-38 USD/month.

Source data

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: 137; denominator: 196.

Source data

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 526. This reuses accepted source evidence, not a new API fetch. Published 90% margin of error: +/-5.5 minutes. Survey travel time is not a current traffic estimate or a route to a named employer.

Source data

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.

Continue your area search

Explore homes in the Sylvania area search. This map-based search is not an exact Census or service boundary, a complete inventory claim or confirmation of services.

Explore nearby

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.

23 source-qualified records within 20 miles.


Browse related locality records

These records share an existing locality tag. They are listed alphabetically, not ranked by distance or suitability.

Fox Hollow – Sylvania – DeKalb

Maple Ridge – Sylvania – DeKalb

Pinecrest – Sylvania – DeKalb

South Ridge – Sylvania – DeKalb

Sylvania High School – DeKalb County Schools – Sylvania

Timber Ridge – Sylvania – DeKalb

Want help connecting the details?

Tell me about your Sylvania 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.

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