Cities across Alabama - from the beaches to Birmingham ‘burbs to the banks of the Tennessee River - are growing like wildfire.
Official population totals for cities and counties across the nation were released Thursday when 2020 Census redistricting data became public. Baldwin County at the coast is flourishing. The state’s fastest growing county from 2010 to 2020, Baldwin is home to five of the top 11 fastest growing cities in the state, including three of the top five.
The Alabama cities that grew the fastest over the last decade are:
[Can’t see the table? Click here.]
No city grew at more rapid rate than Gulf Shores since 2010. One of two Alabama Beach cities, Gulf Shores grew by 54% over the decade. No other city with at least 10,000 people topped 50% growth. Gulf Shores is now home to just over 15,000 people.
Spanish Fort, also in Baldwin County but farther north, was second in the state with a 48% growth rate over that time. Both Gulf Shores and Spanish Fort started the decade with fewer than 10,000 residents, but climbed past that threshold by 2020, with Spanish Fort just barely topping 10,000 in 2020.
Fairhope, Foley and Daphne were also near the top of the list - as was nearby Saraland, across the bay in Mobile County. Many of these coastal cities made big moves up the list of Alabama’s largest cities. Fairhope and Foley both moved up 11 spots on the list, with Fairhope moving up to No. 26 and Foley reaching No. 32.
There was one other county with several entries on the list of fastest growing cities. Jefferson County, home to Birmingham and the most populous county in the state, saw five cities in the top 25, and the Birmingham-Hoover metro area had nine cities on the list, despite Birmingham city itself losing a significant chunk of population.
Chelsea, down the 280 corridor in Shelby County, and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metro, grew the fastest of these Birmingham-area suburbs. It was third in the state at 47% growth from 2010 to 2020.
Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Helena, Trussville, Gardendale, Pelham, Calera and Moody were the other Birmingham-area cities to make the list.
[Can’t see the map? Click here.]
Like some of the Baldwin County cities, Calera and Chelsea made steep climbs up the list of Alabama’s largest cities. Calera moved up 18 spots to No. 39, moving from outside the top 50. Similarly, Chelsea moved up 12 spots from No. 60 in 2010 to No. 48 in 2020.
The Huntsville area was also well represented. Huntsville proper grew by 19% - a significant jump for a city of its size. It added the most total people of any city in the state over the decade, and jumped three spots from No. 4 to No. 1 on the list of the state’s largest cities.
Huntsville is now home to just over 215,000 people, and could soon be the only city in the state with more 200,000, as Birmingham and Montgomery continue to lose people.
Two other Huntsville Metro cities grew quickly - Madison and Athens. Madison was the ninth fastest growing city in Alabama over the decade, growing by 33% up to nearly 57,000 people. Athens, part of Limestone County, one of the fastest growing counties in the state, grew by 16% and passed 25,000 people.
Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Email Ramsey Archibald at rarchibald@al.com, and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more Alabama data stories here.