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is a city located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama, situated approximately twenty miles west of the Georgia state line and eighteen miles north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions of the city extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County. The city's name derives from Genesis 37:17: "let us go to Dothan". According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 65,447, making it the largest town in this part of the state. Dothan is the principal city of the Dothan Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Geneva, Henry and Houston counties; the small portion that lies in Dale County is part of the Enterprise–Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city serves as the main transportation and commercial hub for a significant part of southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia and nearby portions of the Florida Panhandle; since one-fourth of the U.S. Peanut crop is grown nearby, with much of it being processed in the city, Dothan styles itself "The Peanut Capital of the World". The combined population for the entire Dothan metropolitan area is estimated at 138,234.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 86.8 square miles (224.9 km²), of which, 86.6 square miles (224.3 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (0.23%) is water.
In addition to styling itself "The Peanut Capital of the World", Dothan is also the self-proclaimed "Hub of the Wiregrass". It is also commonly referred to as "The Circle City", due to being encircled by Alabama State Route 210, a four-lane highway also known as the Ross Clark Circle. Recent decades have seen the city expand in several directions beyond the confines of this highway.
Fort Rucker, the "Home of Army Aviation", is located about west of the city, just north of the town of Daleville.
The name "Dothan" is pronounced with the vowel "o" in its "long" form. The city's name is often mispronounced by those not familiar with the area.