Rainbow City, Alabama
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Gadsden census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35906. It stands on Horton Creek. The Survey maps it on the Dunaway Mountain quadrangle. 10,191 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 568 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresRainbow City grew from 9,602 to 10,191 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 9,602 | |
| 2020 | 10,191 | +589 (+6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 22 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1889 USGS Springville quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Springville quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1947 USGS Dunaway Mountain quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS Steele quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Dunaway Mountain quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Birmingham North quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
64 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 64 fires within 5 miles of Rainbow City between 1994 and 2018, burning about 508 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 26 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 26 |
| Debris and open burning | 25 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 1997 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 10 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 August 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 11 August 2007 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 July 2006 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 15 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Rainbow City: 6 past producers, 6 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Barium-Barite, Kaolin, Aluminum. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunaway Mtn. Dolomite Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Republic Steel Corp. Plant | Sulfur | Past Producer | ||
| Southside Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Anniston, Fort Payne, Ashville, Ala. | Kaolin, Aluminum | Occurrence | Bauxite, Kaolin | |
| Ne Alabama Bauxite-Kaolin | Kaolin, Aluminum | Occurrence | Bauxite | |
| Giles Myric & A. Campbell | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | Residual | |
| John T Hagen Prospect | Barium-Barite | Occurrence | ||
| Mrs. Alice Campbell Prospect | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Quartz | |
| Unnamed Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Quartz |
Storms near this place
31 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rainbow City in 31 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 17 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2005 | Flash Flood | Rainbow City | 1 hurt, $73,000 | A partial roof collapse occurred at the Paradise Bowling Alley in Rainbow City. The weight of the heavy rain produced the failure. One person was injured in the bowling alley. Several roads in downtown Gadsden were impassable due to high water. Flood water entered numerous homes in the same area. Two motorists were rescued by the local fire department in stalled out vehicles. |
| April 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $50,000 | Several trees were blown down in Rainbow City. Two adjoining businesses, John's Mens Wear and Learning Systems had the roof completely removed in one piece. Several other locations in the county also reported trees blown down. |
| April 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $40,000 | Several trees were blown down on Lakefront Drive, the Southside community near Gadsden. At least 4 homes and several vehicles were damaged by falling trees. |
| September 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Rainbow City | $30,000 | An EF0 tornado, associated with Tropical Storm Lee, with estimated peak winds of 80 MPH touched down in Rainbow City. After touching down near Hill St, the tornado took a turn to the northwest, crossing U.S. Highway 411 west of Bland St. The tornado turn back to the north and lifted near Irene St., west of Alabama Highway 77. Ten to 15 pine trees were snapped and a few hardwood trees were uprooted. Several HVAC units were blown off the roof of Rainbow City Hall on U.S. Highway 411 and minor structural damage occurred at the Spring Lake Lodge Apartments. |
| August 2009 | Lightning | Rainbow City | $20,000 | Lightning struck and damaged an apartment building in the Rainbow City area, near Gadsden, which caused heavy smoke outside the building. Two units of the building had to be evacuated, as firefighters searched for the source of the smoke. The time of the event is estimated. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $20,000 | Winds damaged a few boats and boat houses on the Coosa River at Hortons Bend. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $8,000 | Several trees were knocked down in and around the town of Southside. Two of the trees fell on houses. |
| March 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $5,000 | Several trees were blown down in the area around Garmon Road, Whorton Bend Road, and River Cliff Drive. |
| April 1997 | Hail | Rainbow City | $3,000 | Three-quarter inch hail was reported in Rainbow City, in the southern part of the county. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $2,000 | Numerous trees were blown down on Whorton Bend Road. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $1,000 | Several trees and power lines were blown down. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $1,000 | Several trees were blown down in Rainbow City. |
| December 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | $1,000 | Several trees were blown down on Oakland Drive, near Whorton Bend, south of Gadsden. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | A couple trees were downed in Southside. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | Trees were downed at Sutton Bridge Road and Brown Avenue and at Bachelors Chapel Rd and Smith Rd. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | Multiple trees were downed in the Southside area, including along Lister Ferry Rd, Leota Rd, and Hood Rd, where a motorist was trapped between fallen trees. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Gadsden. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed around Rainbow City. |
| March 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | A tree was blown down onto a home, entrapping the resident inside. |
| March 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | Approximately 20 trees were down along Alabama Highway 77. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | Hail up to quater size fell for several minutes around Rainbow City. |
| March 2005 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | Quarter or larger size hail was observed near Rainbow City. |
| March 2003 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | Penny size hail was reported near Rainbow City. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | Quarter size hail was reported in Rainbow City. Wind gusts associated with this storm were estimated around 50 miles an hour. |
| July 2002 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | Dime size hail was reported in Rainbow City. |
| May 2001 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | Dime size hail was reported in Rainbow City. |
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rainbow City | - | Several trees were reported blown down in Reece City and Rainbow City. A downed tree also interrupted cable television service in Rainbow City. |
| March 2018 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | no account filed |
| March 2018 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | no account filed |
| March 2015 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Rainbow City | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgans Crossroads | 0.2 miles | 22 | |
| Riverside | 1.4 miles | 22 | |
| Old Harmony | 1.5 miles | 22 | |
| Clubview Heights | 2.1 miles | 22 | |
| Southside | 2.3 miles | 22 | |
| Gum Springs (historical) | 2.6 miles | 22 | |
| Pilgrims Rest | 3.0 miles | 22 | |
| South Gadsden | 3.2 miles | 22 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Rainbow City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79710 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 153101. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








