Livingston, Alabama

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Livingston is a city in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,297. The city is the county seat of Sumter County^GR6.

from the city's website:

Livingston is located in West Central Alabama between Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Meridian, Mississippi. Interstate Highway 59 and 20, U.S. Highway 11, and Alabama Highway 28 feeds travelers to and through Livingston.

The University of West Alabama is located just one block from downtown Livingston and offers unlimited educational opportunities as well as exciting collegiate sports.

With mild winter and moderate summers, Livingston's mean average temperature is 64.5 degrees. Annual rainfall is 55 inches and approximately 235 day growing season.

In 1972 Livingston was named a finalist in the All American Cities Competition, sponsored by The Saturday Evening Post.

With all its progress, however, Livingston has managed to retain much of the quality which drew the following comments in a Family Weekly article by Alistair Cooke, renowned for his writing and his television series, "Cooke's America," and the earlier "Omnibus": "Livingston, Ala., was another jewel I well remember from an automobile trip in 1937. It was as far in time and character from Eureka, Nev., as Athens is from Las Vegas. Livingston in 1930's was a serene and beautiful small town where an Englishman to whom I was showing the county decided he would wish to live and die. (He didn't. He chose instead the exquisite colonial town of Newfane,VT...) "Livingston had a charm and serenity that belied its violent past....It retained a character unlike that of any small town in Michigan or New York..."

[edit] Geography

Livingston is located at 32°35′14″N, 88°11′17″W (32.587332, -88.188161)^GR1.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.6 km² (7.2 mi²). 18.4 km² (7.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.11%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,297 people, 1,368 households, and 731 families residing in the city. The population density was 178.8/km² (463.1/mi²). There were 1,586 housing units at an average density of 86.0/km² (222.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 37.82% White, 60.78% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.30% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 1,368 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.0% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.5% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 23.7% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $13,516, and the median income for a family was $22,500. Males had a median income of $31,838 versus $20,833 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,640. About 39.4% of families and 46.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.4% of those under age 18 and 26.0% of those age 65 or over.