HomeAlabamaJefferson CountyBirmingham city
Birmingham city, Alabama: commercial real estate data.
Birmingham city is a Census city of 198,173 people across 147.07 square miles of land, lying across Jefferson County and Shelby County. Median household income is $46,051, 45.5 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 309 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $206.8 m.
79 sourced place values · tier FULL · 8 sections
Birmingham
What Birmingham is
- Census place typecity
- Land area147.07 sq mi
- Water area2.52 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land1,347
- County holding the largest share of its areaJefferson County, 96.6 percent
- Counties this place lies inJefferson County 96.6 percent, Shelby County 3.4 percent
Birmingham city crosses a county line. The split above is measured from the Census boundary of the place against the county boundaries, by area, so it says where the ground is and not where the town hall is.
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Birmingham
How many people live in Birmingham
- Population198,173
- Median age35.6
- Population under 1837,436
- Share under 1818.9 percent
- Population 65 and over32,486
- Share 65 and over16.4 percent
- Households88,788
- Family households42,178
- Share of households that are families47.5 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Birmingham
Income and work in Birmingham
- Median household income$46,051
- Per capita income$32,216
- Civilian labor force97,490
- Employed91,800
- Unemployed5,690
- Unemployment rate5.8 percent
- Adults 25 and over136,711
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher89.0 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher31.1 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree12.3 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Birmingham
Housing in Birmingham
- Housing units109,349
- Occupied units88,788
- Vacant units20,561
- Vacancy rate18.8 percent
- Owner occupied40,402
- Renter occupied48,386
- Ownership rate45.5 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$158,800
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,107
- Annual rent as a share of median income28.8 percent
- Single family units65,601
- Share single family60.0 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more42,873
- Share in buildings of two or more39.2 percent
- Mobile homes825 plus or minus 285
- Median year structure built1965
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Birmingham
How Birmingham gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute81,274
- Commuting under 15 minutes21,785
- Share commuting under 15 minutes26.8 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more17,227
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more21.2 percent
- Drove alone73.7 percent
- Carpooled9.5 percent
- Public transport1.2 percent plus or minus 0.5
- Walked3.5 percent
- Worked from home9.9 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Birmingham
SBA 7(a) lending to Birmingham borrowers
- Approvals309
- Gross approval$206,771,100
- Average approval$669,162
- Median approval$300,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,820,200
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported4,076
- Jobs per approval13.2
- Loans with a final outcome43
- Paid in full41
- Charged off2
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans4.7 percent
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more13.3 percent
- Share to franchises18.8 percent
- Distinct lenders71
- Distinct industries by NAICS129
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Birmingham
SBA 504 lending to Birmingham borrowers
- Approvals181
- Gross approval$126,252,000
- Average approval$697,525
- Median approval$457,000
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported1,878
- Loans with a final outcome51
- Charged off3
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans5.9 percent
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs6
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Jefferson County, not Birmingham
Jefferson County context, not Birmingham figures
These are Jefferson County figures. There is no place level equivalent published for any of them, so they are shown as the county backdrop and never as Birmingham measurements.
- Establishments in Jefferson County16,989
- Employment at those establishments, Jefferson County341,042
- Covered employment, Jefferson County367,081
- Average annual pay, Jefferson County$71,562
- Average weekly wage, Jefferson County$1,376
- Housing units permitted, Jefferson County2,117
- Of those, single family, Jefferson County1,536
- County product, 2024, Jefferson County$65,539,202,000
- County product change over the prior year, Jefferson County4.3 percent
- Average income of an arriving household, Jefferson County$73,144
Every figure in this section is published for Jefferson County as a whole and is not a measurement of Birmingham. It is here because a county backdrop is what a credit committee reads a place against, and it is labelled so that it can never be quoted as the place's own.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual. US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024. US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Every item below could be filled with a plausible figure. None of them is. On a page a lender may read, a number that cannot be traced is worse than an absence, so the absences are named.
- This place is not listed as a community in the FEMA Community Status Book, so no NFIP participation or CRS class is shown.
- Parcel level detail, zoning and flood zone at an address are resolved in the platform, not on this page.
SBA figures count approvals to borrowers whose address is in the place. They are not approvals for projects inside the place boundary: the tape records a borrower city and a project county, and those can differ.
Common questions
Birmingham questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Birmingham, Alabama?
198,173, in 88,788 households. Birmingham city covers 147.07 square miles of land, which is 1,347 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Birmingham in?
Birmingham lies in more than one. By area it is 96.6 percent in Jefferson County, 3.4 percent in Shelby County. This page sits under Jefferson County because that county holds the largest share. The split is measured from the Census boundary of the place against the county boundaries.
What is the median household income in Birmingham?
$46,051. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $158,800. Median gross rent is $1,107 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Birmingham businesses?
309 7(a) approvals totalling $206.8 m, across 71 lenders, median approval $300,000, plus 181 504 approvals worth $126.3 m. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Birmingham, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Birmingham borrowers get paid back?
Of the 43 loans that have reached a final outcome, 41 were paid in full and 2 charged off, a charge off rate of 4.7 percent. Loans still running are excluded because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
Are the county figures on this page Birmingham figures?
No, and they are labelled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Jefferson County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Birmingham.
Is zoning published for Birmingham?
Not yet. The zoning layer is in build. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.