[6] The city is served by the Etowah County Board of Education.

Rainbow City is located in southern Etowah County at 33°56′38″N 86°3′42″W / 33.94389°N 86.06167°W / 33.94389; -86.06167 (33.943964, −86.061546).

[7] It is bordered to the northeast by Gadsden, the county seat, to the southeast by the Coosa River, across which is the city of Southside, and to the southwest, across Little Canoe Creek, by the town of Steele in St. Clair County.

[8] U.S. Route 411 (Rainbow Drive) is the main road through the city, leading northeast 6 miles (10 km) to the center of Gadsden and southwest 15 miles (24 km) to Ashville.

Alabama State Route 77 (Grand Avenue) crosses US 411 in the center of Rainbow City, leading northwest 4 miles (6 km) to Interstate 59 at Exit 181 and south 26 miles (42 km) to Lincoln.

[4] As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 8,428 people, 3,586 households, and 2,517 families residing in the city.

27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of the census[11] of 2010, there were 9,602 people, 4,113 households, and 2,721 families residing in the city.

29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,191 people, 3,847 households, and 2,508 families residing in the city.

The current mayor of Rainbow City is Joe Taylor,[13] who was first elected in 2020.

[14][15] The Current City Council consists of Anita Bedwell, Randy Vice, Clark Hopper, Jeff Prince, and Jameson Jenkins.