Welcome to Athens ...
The city of Athens is located in Limestone County<1> and is the County Seat for Limestone County.
Athens was established in 1818.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Athens has a population of 27,400 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of Athens is 670 feet [204 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Athens lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Athens: 256 & 938<4>
The ZIP codes for Athens: 35611-35614<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Athens had an population of 27,400 people. This is an increase of 25.13% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 44.46% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Athens had a population of 21,897 people (or 26.32% of the total population of Limestone County). This makes Athens the county's most populous community.
The population of Athens represents 0.46% of the total population of Alabama (which has 4,779,736 people), making it the state's 24th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 21,897 people, the population of Athens increased 15.45% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 18,967 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Athens.
Communities Also Named Athens ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 28 communities that are also named Athens - they are located in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Athens.
Websites for Athens ...
Official Website: www.ci.athens.al.us/
Communities near Athens ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Athens.
- Decatur
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Decatur
- From Athens to Decatur
- Madison
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madison have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Madison is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 52,654 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madison <6>
- Priceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priceville
- Priceville is located in Morgan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,984 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Priceville <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Priceville
- From Athens to Priceville
- Trinity
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trinity have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
- Trinity is located in Morgan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,467 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trinity <6>
- Ardmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ardmore have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardmore
- Ardmore is located in Limestone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,513 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ardmore <6>
- Triana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast) - Rogersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Rogersville
- From Athens to Rogersville
- Ardmore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ardmore have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardmore
- Ardmore is located in Giles County (TN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,218 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ardmore <6>
- Flint City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flint City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Elkmont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkmont have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont
- Elkmont is located in Limestone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkmont <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Athens. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Athens.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Athens. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Athens.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Athens. Our list includes 25 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Athens.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Athens ...
Looking for more information about Athens? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Athens, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Athens.
Adding Athens to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Athens in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Athens was in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
We also found Athens in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Athens.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Athens: www.ci.athens.al.us/
The official website for Limestone County: www.co.limestone.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Limestone, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Athens. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Athens - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 256 code has been Overlayed with the 938 area code. New phone numbers in the Athens area will be assigned with one of these codes: 256 or 938. As a result, placing a call in the Athens area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Athens). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Athens or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Athens includes: 35611, 35612, 35613 & 35614. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |