HomeAlabamaBaldwin CountyGulf Shores
Gulf Shores, Alabama: commercial real estate data.
Gulf Shores is a Census city of 16,401 people across 28.69 square miles of land, in Baldwin County. Median household income is $78,188, 70.6 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 29 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $16.3 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Gulf Shores
What Gulf Shores is
- Census place typecity
- Land area28.69 sq mi
- Water area4.83 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land572
- County holding the largest share of its areaBaldwin County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Gulf Shores
How many people live in Gulf Shores
- Population16,401
- Median age50.8
- Population under 182,850
- Share under 1817.4 percent
- Population 65 and over4,249
- Share 65 and over25.9 percent
- Households7,542
- Family households4,592
- Share of households that are families60.9 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Gulf Shores
Income and work in Gulf Shores
- Median household income$78,188
- Per capita income$45,509
- Civilian labor force8,356
- Employed8,153
- Unemployed203 plus or minus 138
- Unemployment rate2.4 percent plus or minus 1.6
- Adults 25 and over12,581
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher97.2 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher39.9 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree13.6 percent plus or minus 2.8
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Gulf Shores
Housing in Gulf Shores
- Housing units15,263
- Occupied units7,542
- Vacant units7,721
- Vacancy rate50.6 percent
- Owner occupied5,326
- Renter occupied2,216
- Ownership rate70.6 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$382,700
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,483
- Annual rent as a share of median income22.8 percent
- Single family units7,054
- Share single family46.2 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more8,072
- Share in buildings of two or more52.9 percent
- Mobile homes137 plus or minus 100
- Median year structure built2000
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Gulf Shores
How Gulf Shores gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute6,436
- Commuting under 15 minutes2,537 plus or minus 565
- Share commuting under 15 minutes39.4 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more1,745 plus or minus 416
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more27.1 percent plus or minus 5.9
- Drove alone72.4 percent
- Carpooled5.1 percent plus or minus 2.7
- Public transport0.0 percent
- Walked0.4 percent plus or minus 0.5
- Worked from home19.8 percent plus or minus 4.7
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Gulf Shores
SBA loans in Gulf Shores (7(a))
- Approvals29
- Gross approval$16,324,100
- Average approval$562,900
- Median approval$228,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,879,800
- Largest approval$3,400,000
- Jobs supported356
- Jobs per approval12.3
- Loans with a final outcome2
- Paid in full2
- Charged off0
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more17.2 percent
- Share to franchises10.3 percent
- Distinct lenders20
- Distinct industries by NAICS22
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Gulf Shores, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 2 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Gulf Shores
SBA loans in Gulf Shores (504)
- Approvals13
- Gross approval$8,890,000
- Average approval$683,846
- Median approval$656,000
- Largest approval$1,638,000
- Jobs supported155
- Loans with a final outcome5
- Charged off0
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs3
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Gulf Shores, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 5 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Gulf Shores
Flood risk in Gulf Shores
- NFIP communityCity of Gulf Shores
- NFIP community number015005
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classClass 10
- Currently effective map date04/19/19
The City of Gulf Shores participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 015005 and carries Community Rating System class 10, a flood insurance premium discount for policies written there.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Baldwin County, not Gulf Shores
Baldwin County context, not Gulf Shores figures
- Establishments in Baldwin County6,409
- Covered employment, Baldwin County85,118
- Average annual pay, Baldwin County$51,157
- Housing units permitted, Baldwin County3,883
Every figure in this section is published for Baldwin County as a whole and is not a measurement of Gulf Shores.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Gulf Shores questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Gulf Shores, Alabama?
16,401, in 7,542 households. Gulf Shores city covers 28.69 square miles of land, which is 572 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Gulf Shores in?
Baldwin County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Gulf Shores?
$78,188. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $382,700. Median gross rent is $1,483 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Gulf Shores businesses?
29 7(a) approvals totaling $16.3 m since FY2020, across 20 lenders, median approval $228,000, plus 13 504 approvals worth $8.9 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Gulf Shores, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Gulf Shores borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Gulf Shores. Only 2 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Gulf Shores in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Gulf Shores appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Gulf Shores, city of, community 015005, carrying Community Rating System class 10, which is a premium discount for exceeding the program minimum. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Gulf Shores figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Baldwin County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Gulf Shores.
Is zoning published for Gulf Shores?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.