Birmingham / Rainbow City
Rainbow City has 10,284 residents (give or take 44) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19), about 401 people per square mile.
Rainbow City is about 49 miles from the Census center point for Birmingham in a straight line and covers 25.649 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Rainbow City that is 35906 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Rainbow City is spread out at 401 people per square mile across 25.649 square miles of land, so a long refrigerant line run between the outdoor unit and the farthest indoor head is the sizing question an installer checks first.
Of the 4,131 occupied homes in Rainbow City, 31% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 66% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19).
Electricity already heats 66% of Rainbow City homes, ahead of gas at 31%, and a home on electric baseboard sees the biggest bill change from a heat pump because it replaces resistance heat one for one.
Rainbow City has about the Etowah County oil share of 0% and 6 points more electric heat than the county's 60% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US01055, checked 2026-10-19).
Rainbow City has 4,693 housing units, 0% built before 1940 and 39% before 1980, with 31% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19).
Rainbow City has 6 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Etowah County as a whole (6%) and 12 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 19% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US01055, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Rainbow City home was built in 1990 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.6 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19).
67% of Rainbow City homes are single-family detached, 8% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 17% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19).
34% of Rainbow City homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 67% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Rainbow City has 12 points fewer detached houses than Etowah County overall (79%) and 10 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 7% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US01055, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Rainbow City on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Alabama Power gas-furnace-to-heat-pump rebate, run by Alabama Power, is a live program for Alabama addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,000 per system (registry row 29 verified 2026-10-14, https://www.alabamapower.com/residential/save-money-and-energy/rebates-and-incentives.html, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Rainbow City address before counting it. With 66% of Rainbow City homes already on electric heat and 33% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
TVA EnergyRight heat pump rebate (north Alabama), run by TVA EnergyRight, is a live program for Alabama addresses and lists a standard figure of $500 (registry row 30 verified 2026-10-14, https://energyright.com/residential/rebates/heat-pump/, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Rainbow City address before counting it.
Median household income in Rainbow City is $56,398 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US0163288, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: 21F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Etowah County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 4 to 6 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 21F figure is the Etowah County cold-day number a Rainbow City heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 21F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Rainbow City home has 5.6 rooms and was built around 1990, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Rainbow City. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Rainbow City yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.