About Birmingham

Birmingham is the biggest city in Alabama. Passing an ordinance through Birmingham will have statewide, life-saving impact.

Birmingham is the most populous city in Alabama. Founded during the Reconstruction era, the city is named after the United Kingdom’s Birmingham, which was a major industrial city at the time of the city’s establishment in Alabama. Birmingham quickly flourished, centering itself on the mining, iron, steel and rail industries.

During the second half of the twentieth century, Birmingham’s economy diversified to include banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical power, medical care insurance and higher education. As one of the most prominent business hubs of the Southeast, Birmingham is now one of the largest banking centers in the United States.

Birmingham is located within Jones Valley, which is connected to the Village and Valley Creeks. These creeks empty into the Black Warrior River, a major source of hydroelectric power. Red Mountain is located south of Birmingham, as is the Cahaba River basin, one of the most diverse river ecosystems in the country.

According to the 2010 Census, Birmingham has a population of 212,237. The population is 73.4% African-American, 22.3% White, 3.6% Latinx and 1.0% Asian-American. According to the 2000 Census, the city’s median household income was $31,898. 

According to the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan statistical area has the second highest ratio of Christians among metropolitan areas over 1,000,000. Additionally, the city has the highest ratio of Protestants. Finally, the Catholic television network EWTN is headquartered in Birmingham.

Birmingham was ranked twentieth in 2017 for highest crime rates in 2017. In 2011, Birmingham was ranked as the third-most dangerous city in the United States, behind Atlanta and St. Louis. Violent crime within Birmingham increased by 10% from 2014 to 2016.

The city represents Alabama’s cultural capital, and the Birmingham Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the Southeast. Influenced by African-Americans of the Black Belt and white laborers from across the state, Birmingham’s twentieth century laid a foundation for the Deep South culture iconified by its twenty-first century. Several minor-league athletic organizations call Birmingham home, including the Birmingham Barons and Birmingham Legion FC. 

Birmingham has a mayor-council form of government requiring a two-thirds majority for passage of any legislation. Current Mayor Randall Woodfin was elected in 2017. He is a member of the Mayors Against LGBTQ Discrimination coalition, and he appointed Birmingham’s first LGBTQ liaison in 2018.