New Census Data Tracks State Population Increase
- July 29th, 2019
New Census Data Tracks State Population Increase
The state of Alabama has seen a 6.9 percent population increase since the 1990 Census, according to statistics released this week by the Alabama State Data Center (ASDC) at The University of Alabama.
The newly available 1997 figures show that Alabama is growing, but not as fast as the nation at 7.6 percent or the south at 10.2 percent, said Center Manager Annette Watters. The ASDC is a division of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration that works closely with the U.S. Census Bureau. Watters is also chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based national State Data Center.
Which county posts a No. 1 ranking in regard to its population? Well, said Watters, that depends on how you read the numbers.
“Jefferson is Alabama’s largest county, with 658,664 people,” Watters said. “But Shelby County added the most people – 36,083 since 1990 – and had the highest growth rate – a 36.3 percent increase in population.
“Madison County added the second largest number of people, but Baldwin County had the second highest growth rate,” she continued. “New residents are clearly heading to Shelby, Madison and Baldwin counties.
“In general, you’ll find that counties in Alabama that are part of a metro area are growing faster than are non-metropolitan counties.”
Watters said Lee County is the state’s fifth fastest growing county and one of only two in the top 10 fastest growing counties that is not part of a metropolitan statistical area, adding, “After the 2000 Census, Lee County, which is near Columbus, Ga., is likely to be designated a metro area.”
Watters noted that most of the state’s growth came from just a few counties. For example, Jefferson County is home to 15 percent of the state’s entire population, and the Birmingham metro area considered as a whole accounts for 21 percent of the state’s population.
“Put another way, more than one out of every five Alabamians live in the Birmingham metro area,” Watters said. “Only 14 of Alabama’s 67 counties account for 75 percent of all the population growth in the state over the last seven years.”
Watters explained that population gains come from people moving or being born into an area, while losses come from people moving away or dying. “Most changes in general occur because of movers, not through natural increases or decreases,” she said. “People move primarily for job or educational reasons.”
And, she added, people don’t always live in the counties where they work. Good Alabama examples are Autauga and Elmore counties, home to many Montgomery County workers and part of the Montgomery metropolitan area. Both rank in the state’s top five in percentage increases during this decade; Elmore has grown by 22.5 percent (11,062 people) and Autauga by 20.7 percent (7,084 people).
In looking at the entire state, Watters said, 57 of the 67 counties have seen some population gain since 1990. All 10 of the counties recording population losses have shown continuing downward trends for some time.
“Calhoun County, on the other hand, is showing a turnaround in its trend,” noted the Center manager. “Earlier in the decade it had substantial population loss related to announcements about closing military facilities located there. But Calhoun County’s basic economic strength has reversed that population decline and the area now shows modest growth.
“As the decade progresses, the population should continue to grow.”
The Center for Business and Economic Research is a division of research and service of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. The Alabama State Data Center works closely with the U.S. Census Bureau to track demographic, economic and population statistics. Periodically, CBER publishes the Economic Abstract of Alabama, which provides voluminous data on many aspects of Alabama’s economy.
The Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, founded in 1919, first began offering graduate education in 1924. Its Manderson Graduate School of Business has received repeated positive recognition in the 1990s from such publications as Business Week, The Princeton Review and The Gourman Report.
Alabama's Resident Population Rank
Rank Rank by
1990 1997 by Number by No. Percent Growth
Census Size Change Incr. Change Rate
_____________________ ____ _______ _____ ______ _____
Alabama 4,040,389 4,319,154 278,765 6.9%
Autauga County 34,222 41,306 29 7,084 13 20.7% 5
Baldwin County 98,280 128,842 7 30,562 3 31.1% 2
Barbour County 25,417 26,782 40 1,365 33 5.4% 27
Bibb County 16,576 18,588 50 2,012 27 12.1% 9
Blount County 39,248 45,081 27 5,833 16 14.9% 6
Bullock County 11,042 11,270 66 228 50 2.1% 45
Butler County 21,892 21,692 46 (200) 63 -0.9% 61
Calhoun County 116,032 117,092 8 1,060 38 0.9% 52
Chambers County 36,876 36,825 32 (51) 59 -0.1% 58
Cherokee County 19,543 21,590 47 2,047 26 10.5% 14
Chilton County 32,458 36,349 34 3,891 19 12.0% 11
Choctaw County 16,018 15,894 55 (124) 61 -0.8% 60
Clarke County 27,240 28,489 39 1,249 36 4.6% 31
Clay County 13,252 13,832 60 580 45 4.4% 35
Cleburne County 12,730 14,092 58 1,362 34 10.7% 13
Coffee County 40,240 41,980 28 1,740 31 4.3% 36
Colbert County 51,666 53,047 22 1,381 32 2.7% 43
Conecuh County 14,054 14,083 59 29 56 0.2% 56
Coosa County 11,063 11,554 65 491 46 4.4% 34
Covington County 36,478 37,362 31 884 44 2.4% 44
Crenshaw County 13,635 13,645 61 10 57 0.1% 57
Cullman County 67,613 74,241 16 6,628 14 9.8% 15
Dale County 49,633 49,107 25 (526) 65 -1.1% 63
Dallas County 48,130 47,133 26 (997) 66 -2.1% 65
DeKalb County 54,651 57,752 21 3,101 22 5.7% 25
Elmore County 49,210 60,272 20 11,062 6 22.5% 3
Escambia County 35,518 36,487 33 969 41 2.7% 42
Etowah County 99,840 104,313 10 4,473 18 4.5% 33
Fayette County 17,962 18,176 51 214 53 1.2% 50
Franklin County 27,814 29,613 37 1,799 30 6.5% 20
Geneva County 23,647 24,828 41 1,181 37 5.0% 29
Greene County 10,153 9,902 67 (251) 64 -2.5% 66
Hale County 15,498 16,390 53 892 43 5.8% 23
Henry County 15,374 15,636 57 262 49 1.7% 48
Houston County 81,331 85,163 12 3,832 21 4.7% 30
Jackson County 47,796 50,751 23 2,955 24 6.2% 21
Jefferson County 651,520 658,664 1 7,144 12 1.1% 51
Lamar County 15,715 15,759 56 44 54 0.3% 54
Lauderdale County 79,661 84,241 13 4,580 17 5.7% 24
Lawrence County 31,513 33,386 35 1,873 28 5.9% 22
Lee County 87,146 98,501 11 11,355 5 13.0% 8
Limestone County 54,135 60,700 19 6,565 15 12.1% 10
Lowndes County 12,658 12,881 63 223 51 1.8% 47
Macon County 24,928 23,314 45 (1,614) 67 -6.5% 67
Madison County 238,912 272,293 3 33,381 2 14.0% 7
Marengo County 23,084 23,503 44 419 47 1.8% 46
Marion County 29,830 30,813 36 983 40 3.3% 41
Marshall County 70,832 78,893 14 8,061 11 11.4% 12
Mobile County 378,643 398,276 2 19,633 4 5.2% 28
Monroe County 23,968 24,186 42 218 52 0.9% 53
Montgomery County 209,085 217,597 4 8,512 9 4.1% 37
Morgan County 100,043 108,304 9 8,261 10 8.3% 17
Perry County 12,759 12,642 64 (117) 60 -0.9% 62
Pickens County 20,699 20,964 48 265 48 1.3% 49
Pike County 27,595 28,604 38 1,009 39 3.7% 39
Randolph County 19,881 19,923 49 42 55 0.2% 55
Russell County 46,860 50,719 24 3,859 20 8.2% 18
Shelby County 99,363 135,446 6 36,083 1 36.3% 1
St. Clair County 49,811 60,838 18 11,027 7 22.1% 4
Sumter County 16,174 15,998 54 (176) 62 -1.1% 64
Talladega County 74,109 76,846 15 2,737 25 3.7% 38
Tallapoosa County 38,826 40,148 30 1,322 35 3.4% 40
Tuscaloosa County 150,522 160,760 5 10,238 8 6.8% 19
Walker County 67,670 70,733 17 3,063 23 4.5% 32
Washington County 16,694 17,613 52 919 42 5.5% 26
Wilcox County 13,568 13,537 62 (31) 58 -0.2% 59
Winston County 22,053 23,913 43 1,860 29 8.4% 16