Dothan, Alabama

Dothan
Downtown Dothan
Downtown Dothan
Flag of Dothan
Official seal of Dothan
Location of Dothan in Dale, Henry, and Houston Counties, Alabama
Location of Dothan in Dale, Henry, and Houston Counties, Alabama
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountiesHouston, Dale, Henry
Government
 • TypeMayor - Council
 • MayorMark Saliba (R)
Area
 • Total
90.16 sq mi (233.53 km2)
 • Land89.84 sq mi (232.68 km2)
 • Water0.33 sq mi (0.84 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
71,072
 • RankAL: 8th
 • Density791.10/sq mi (305.45/km2)
 • CSA
248,947
ZIP Codes
36301–36305, 36345, 36350
FIPS code01-21184
Websitewww.dothan.org

Dothan (/ˈdθən/ DOH-thən)[citation needed] is a city in and the county seat of Houston County in the U.S. state of Alabama. A slight portion of the city extends into Dale and Henry counties. It had a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census,[2] making it Alabama's eighth-largest city by population and the 5th largest in Alabama by total area. It is near the state's southeastern corner, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Georgia and 16 miles (26 km) north of Florida. It is named after the biblical city where Joseph's brothers threw him into a cistern and sold him into slavery in Egypt.[3]

Dothan is the principal city of the Dothan, Alabama metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties; the small portion in Dale County is part of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area. Together they form the Dothan-Ozark Combined Statistical Area. Coffee County and its Enterprise micropolitan area was originally combined as a statistical area with both Dothan and Ozark as well, but is now split off as its own statistical area by the US Census Bureau. Together they form the Alabama portion of the Wiregrass region, of which Dothan is that portion's largest city. The combined population of the entire Dothan metropolitan area in 2020 was 151,007.[4] The city is the main transportation and commercial hub for a significant part of southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and nearby portions of the Florida Panhandle. Since approximately one-fourth of the U.S. peanut crop is produced nearby, much of it processed in the city, Dothan is known as "The Peanut Capital of the World". It also hosts the annual National Peanut Festival at the Peanut Festival Fairgrounds.[5]

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Dothan city, Alabama". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Dothan". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  4. ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  5. ^ Dothan Convention and Visitor's Bureau website Archived August 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 18, 2013.