Fort Rucker is a US Army base located mostly in Dale County, Alabama. The base is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Museum. Portions of the base also lie in Coffee, Geneva, and Houston counties. It is treated by the United States Census as a census-designated place, and so specific demographic information is compiled on the base's residents.

The main base has entrances from three bordering cities, Daleville, Ozark and Enterprise. For many years prior to 9/11 the main base (except airfields and other restricted areas) was an open base with unmanned gates allowing civilians to drive through the base between these cities.

While serving in the Army, former US Vice-President Al Gore was stationed at Fort Rucker prior to his five-month deployment in Vietnam.

Geography

Fort Rucker is located at 31°20'37" North, 85°42'29" West (31.343654, -85.707995).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 28.2 km² (10.9 mi²). 28.2 km² (10.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.18% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 6,052 people, 1,399 households, and 1,347 families residing on base. The population density is 215.0/km² (556.8/mi²). There are 1,544 housing units at an average density of 54.8/km² (142.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 68.52% White, 18.13% Black or African American, 0.94% Native American, 2.05% Asian, 0.74% Pacific Islander, 5.27% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. 11.68% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 1,399 households out of which 79.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.4% are married couples living together, 8.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 3.7% are non-families. 3.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.47 and the average family size is 3.51.

The base population is spread out with 35.3% under the age of 18, 15.9% from 18 to 24, 46.2% from 25 to 44, 2.4% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 24 years. For every 100 females there are 131.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 145.1 males.

The median income for a base household is $34,603, and the median income for a family is $33,664. Males have a median income of $29,321 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income is $14,495. 7.1% of the population and 6.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Ft. Rucker official website
• Army Aviation Museum