How dark is the sky in Gadsden, AL?

Satellite radiance puts Gadsden in the suburban edge band. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. That's brighter than 21.5% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

Where to go for a darker sky near Gadsden

Rainbow City, AL, about 7 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the dark sky band, one step darker than Gadsden. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Rainbow City, AL is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Gadsden against the rest of the dataset

Gadsden, AL has a population of about 33,086, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Gadsden ranks 687 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.