Cottondale, Alabama

{{Short description|Suburb in Alabama, United States}} {{Use American English|date=September 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Cottondale, Alabama |settlement_type = Census-designated place |nickname = |motto = |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_flag = |image_map = File:Tuscaloosa County Alabama Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Cottondale Highlighted 0117704.svg |mapsize = |map_caption = Location of Cottondale in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.  |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = Alabama |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Tuscaloosa  |established_title = |established_date = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name =  |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_01.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref> |area_total_sq_mi = 3.46 |area_land_sq_mi = 3.44 |area_water_sq_mi = 0.02 |area_total_km2 = 8.97 |area_land_km2 = 8.92 |area_water_km2 = 0.05  |population_as_of = 2020 |population_total = 3130 |population_footnotes = |population_density_sq_mi = 908.83 |population_density_km2 = 350.94  |timezone = Central (CST) |utc_offset = -6 |timezone_DST = CDT |utc_offset_DST = -5 |elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/> |elevation_ft = 344 |coordinates = {{coord|33|11|32|N|87|27|15|W|region:US-AL|display=inline,title}} |coordinates_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>  |postal_code_type = ZIP code |postal_code = 35453 |area_codes = 205, 659 |blank_name = GNIS feature ID |blank_info = 2727439<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2727439}}</ref> |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |footnotes = }} '''Cottondale''' is a census-designated place in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, United States, now encompassed in the eastern suburbs of Tuscaloosa.<ref name=gnis/> As of the 2020 census, Cottondale had a population of 3,130.<ref name="Census2020PLLede">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME%2CP1_001N&for=place%3A17704&in=state%3A01|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=March 6, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref> The ZIP Code is 35453.<ref name="GR7">{{cite web|url=http://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action|title=USPS - Look Up a ZIP Code|access-date=February 15, 2012|author=United States Postal Service|year=2012}}</ref> Alternative spellings include '''Cotton Dale''', '''Kennedale''', '''Kennidale''' and '''Konnidale'''.<ref name="gnis"/> ==History== Cottondale was the site of cotton mills where the Knights of Labor had some success in organizing drives in the late 1880s; and where "Mother" Jones worked in 1904 while studying conditions for working women and children in the South.

<blockquote>Little girls and boys, barefooted, walked up and down between the endless rows of spindles, reaching thin little hands into the machinery to repair snapped threads.... Tiny babies of six years old with faces of sixty did an eight-hour shift for ten cents a day.... The machines, built in the north, were built low for the hands of little children.<ref>Nies, Judith. ''Nine women: portraits from the American radical tradition'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002; p. 112-13</ref> </blockquote>

Cottondale was originally called Kennedale in honor of Joseph Kennedy, one of the owners of a local cotton mill. In 1876, the name was changed to Cottondale for the cotton mill.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foscue |first=Virginia |date=1989 |title=Place Names in Alabama |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=The University of Alabama Press |page=41 |isbn=0-8173-0410-X }}</ref>

==Demographics== Cottondale first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 census.

{{US Census population |align = right |2020 = 3130 |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2016}}</ref> | align-fn = center }}

===2020 census=== As of the 2020 census, Cottondale had a population of 3,130. The median age was 37.5 years. About 22.7% of residents were under age 18, and 15.4% were age 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males; among residents age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males for every 100 females.<ref name="Census2020DP">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dp?get=NAME,DP1_0021P,DP1_0024P,DP1_0025C,DP1_0049C,DP1_0045C,DP1_0069C,DP1_0073C,DP1_0125P,DP1_0126P,DP1_0129P,DP1_0133P,DP1_0137P,DP1_0138P,DP1_0139P,DP1_0141P,DP1_0142P,DP1_0143P,DP1_0145P,DP1_0146P,DP1_0147C,DP1_0148C,DP1_0149C,DP1_0156C,DP1_0157C,DP1_0158C,DP1_0159P,DP1_0160P&for=place%3A17704&in=state%3A01|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=April 28, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="Census2020PL">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME,P1_001N,P1_003N,P1_004N,P1_005N,P1_006N,P1_007N,P1_008N,P1_009N,P2_001N,P2_002N,H1_001N,H1_002N&for=place%3A17704&in=state%3A01|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=April 28, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

All residents lived in urban areas (100.0%), while 0.0% lived in rural areas.<ref name="Census2020DHC">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dhc?get=NAME,P2_002N,P2_003N&for=place%3A17704&in=state%3A01|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2023|access-date=April 28, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

There were 1,333 households, including 28.4% with children under age 18. Married-couple households made up 34.7% of households, while 22.2% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present and 35.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. Individuals living alone made up 32.6% of households, and 8.6% of households had someone living alone age 65 or older.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

There were 1,480 housing units, of which 9.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%, and the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+'''Cottondale CDP, Alabama – Racial and ethnic composition''' {{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}} !Race / Ethnicity (''NH = Non-Hispanic'') !Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Cottondale CDP, Alabama|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US0117704&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> !% 2020 |- |White alone (NH) |1,609 |51.41% |- |Black or African American alone (NH) |1,049 |33.51% |- |Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) |9 |0.29% |- |Asian alone (NH) |15 |0.48% |- |Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) |2 |0.06% |- |Other race alone (NH) |8 |0.26% |- |Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) |122 |3.90% |- |Hispanic or Latino (any race) |316 |10.10% |- |'''Total''' |'''3,130''' |'''100.00%''' |} ==See also== *Holt, Alabama — an adjacent unincorporated community in Tuscaloosa County *Alberta City, Tuscaloosa — an adjacent suburb of Tuscaloosa City

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Census-designated places in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Category:Census-designated places in Alabama