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Place dossier plate
SheetAL-BIRMINGHAM-AL · Birmingham, AL 199,322 pop · income 12th pct · 189 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Birmingham
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Birmingham on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Larsen Bay · lowest
44,375
Larsen Bay · lowest
44,375 median HH income
41.2% of the leader · rank #1
Humnoke · near
44,375
Humnoke · near
44,375 median HH income
41.2% of the leader · rank #2
Fairmead · near
44,375
Fairmead · near
44,375 median HH income
41.2% of the leader · rank #3
Taylorsville · near
44,375
Taylorsville · near
44,375 median HH income
41.2% of the leader · rank #4
Birmingham · this city
44,376
Birmingham · this city
44,376 median HH income
41.2% of the leader · rank #5
Hoover · highest
107,822
Hoover · highest
107,822 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Birmingham on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 199,322.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Birmingham - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Birmingham places in the 12th percentile for household income and the 3rd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
12th
percentile, household income
23rd
percentile, home value
1st
percentile, median rent
3rd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Birmingham, AL
Alabama's Birmingham is a mid-sized U.S. city, with 199,322 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $44,376 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 19.4%. Home values in Birmingham run a median of $138,600, and the median resident age is 35.9 years. 30.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 54.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 676 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 245% from five years earlier. Birmingham's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 5277.9 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Birmingham's yearly average temperature at 63.9°F with 56.6 inches of precipitation per year and 1.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Alabama run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Alabama scores 88.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $936 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Alabama run around $245, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 19.6 minutes, with 74.4% driving alone and 8.5% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 61.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Birmingham's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from climate and hazard context to within-city variation to population change to housing and income to reported crime to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Birmingham, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Birmingham?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 63.9°F, with 56.6 inches of precipitation and 1.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Alabama is 61.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
What can 189 Census tracts reveal inside Birmingham?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 189 Census tracts to this city.
Is Birmingham growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -4,333 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 676 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Birmingham?
Within Alabama, the closest population matches are Montgomery (198,440 residents, $55,687 income); Mobile (185,097 residents, $51,090 income); Huntsville (218,814 residents, $70,778 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Sunrise Manor, NV (199,099 residents); Tallahassee, FL (199,696 residents); Grand Prairie, TX (198,564 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Birmingham?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 19.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$44,376
Home value
$138,600
Value / income
3.1×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Birmingham?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 5277.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 131% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
4031.4
Violent rate
1246.6
Total reported rate
5277.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Birmingham?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.4%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.6 minutes.
Public transit
1.3%
Work from home
8.5%
Drive alone
74.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 89,160 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Birmingham?
The NCES join finds 59 public schools within the city match. 30.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
59
Bachelor's degree+
30.7%
Poverty estimate
19.4%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
88.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share C
30.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
19.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$44,376
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
1,247 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Birmingham profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 90/100 (A+) · 88.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 59/100 (C) · 30.7%
Poverty rate: 14/100 (F) · 19.4%
Household income: 13/100 (F) · $44,376
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,247 /100k
Where Birmingham sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Birmingham's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Birmingham highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Birmingham, AL (this city): home $138,600, crime 5,278/100k
Grand Prairie, TX : home $272,200, crime 1,822/100k
Grand Rapids, MI : home $225,500, crime 3,391/100k
Amarillo, TX : home $186,800, crime 3,346/100k
Sioux Falls, SD : home $271,400, crime 3,442/100k
Montgomery, AL : home $148,500, crime 2,830/100k
Mobile, AL : home $170,300, crime 2,427/100k
Huntsville, AL : home $263,100, crime 2,872/100k
Tuscaloosa, AL : home $236,600, crime 3,285/100k
Hoover, AL : home $391,300, crime 1,335/100k
Auburn, AL : home $342,400, crime 1,087/100k
How does Birmingham compare to other US cities?
Birmingham measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income12% higher than other cities
Home value23% pricier than other cities
Median rent1% pricier than other cities
Safety3% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Alabama alone, Birmingham ranks #217 of 222 Alabama cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Birmingham against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alabama only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alabama-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Birmingham near the bottom of Alabama's cities
Among the 556 Alabama cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Birmingham ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Birmingham only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#357 of 530
33rd percentile in Alabama
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Median Home Value
#269 of 517
48th percentile in Alabama
Poverty Rate
#131 of 556
76th percentile in Alabama
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#84 of 556
85th percentile in Alabama
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alabama only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
12th percentile nationally for median household income · 3rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Birmingham's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Birmingham's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Birmingham's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$138,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 77% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Birmingham's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,307 of 15,516
More affordable than 53% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#135 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 3.1×, Birmingham sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,307 of 15,516 and #135 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$44,376Birmingham, AL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Birmingham, AL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Birmingham, AL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)30.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
199,322
Median Income
$44,376
Median Home Value
$138,600
Median Age
35.9
Poverty Rate
19.4%
Labor force participation
54.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
30.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
5277.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1246.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
4031.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
63.9°F
Annual Precipitation
56.6"
Annual Snowfall
1.4"
Schools
Total Schools
59
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Birmingham's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
200,226 residents
2021
197,660 residents
2022
196,972 residents
2023
197,001 residents
2024
196,789 residents
2025
195,893 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
676
housing units authorized
Single-Family
95
detached homes
Multifamily
581
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
196
78
118
$28.8M
2020
208
86
122
$31.3M
2021
637
90
547
$66.3M
2022
1,211
111
1,100
$228.7M
2023
439
93
346
$85.9M
2024
676
95
581
$139.6M
Permit volume increased 245% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
19.6 minutes
Drive Alone
74.4%
Carpool
9.7%
Public Transit
1.3%
Walk
3.4%
Work from Home
8.5%
Other
2.7%
Based on 89,160 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alabama statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $245
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alabama at $245 (electricity about $138 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alabama statewide averages, not a meter reading for Birmingham. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alabama's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Birmingham is $936/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alabama statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alabama statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Birmingham sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Birmingham compares to similar-size Alabama cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.