According to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Jefferson and Mobile counties grew, and Montgomery narrowed its population losses in 2024 thanks to an increase in international migration. International immigration also padded growth in Madison and Baldwin Counties, though growth there was largely driven by domestic migration—new residents moving in from other counties and states.
The latest Census Bureau data provides population estimates for counties and metropolitan areas as of July 1, 2024, and includes underlying estimates of net change due to births, deaths, and movement of residents between counties, states, and other countries. A PARCA analysis of the data finds that:
- Considering births, deaths, and both domestic and international migration, 41 of 67 Alabama counties saw population growth.
- In 54 of Alabama’s 67 counties, deaths exceeded births.
- 26 counties lost population, all rural and mostly in Central Alabama’s Black Belt.
- 42 counties experienced a net gain of residents moving in from other counties or other states.
- 60 counties saw net positive growth from international migration.
- Without that international inflow, 30 of Alabama’s 67 counties would have lost population in 2024.
Natural change, births vs. deaths, provides a backdrop for population growth or decline, and in most Alabama counties, natural change has been negative for several years now. That trend began during the Covid-19 pandemic, but continues, though to a lesser degree. As the large Baby Boom generation ages and experiences higher rates of mortality, the number of deaths increases. Meanwhile, younger generations are having fewer children. The two factors combined create a backdrop of population decline through natural change.
There are exceptions. Fifteen counties are still gaining population through natural increase. Those counties tend to be those where young people make up a disproportionate share of the population: suburban counties and counties with universities. Counties with high percentages of Hispanic residents, like Marshall and Franklin counties, tend to have higher birth rates, offsetting the high death rates typical of rural counties.
High Growth Counties
The two Alabama counties that saw the most population growth—Madison, home to Huntsville, and coastal Baldwin County—each saw more than 6,500 additional residents move in from other counties or states while also drawing some international migrants.
Limestone, the fastest-growing county in percentage terms, added over 4,000 residents through domestic migration but added very few international migrants.
Lee County drew evenly from both sources, adding about 1,500 residents from other counties or states and a similar amount from abroad. Rounding out the top five, Shelby County added from both sources as well, with an estimated 950 net international arrivals and 720 new residents from other counties and states.
Migration
Alabama has continued net positive growth from domestic migration people moving in from other states. Within the state, domestic migration was positive in all counties bordering Tennessee and Florida, and in nine of 11 counties bordering Georgia. Meanwhile, only three of the 10 counties bordering Mississippi experienced a net gain.
Central counties of the larger metropolitan areas tend to see an outflow of population to the surrounding suburban counties. This is true for Jefferson, Montgomery, and Mobile counties. For all three of those countries, an increase in international immigration helped offset those domestic losses.
Metro Areas
All of the state’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) experienced positive population growth. MSAs are counties or groups of counties in which the economies are connected through employment and commuting patterns. The Birmingham MSA’s population increased by over 6,000 residents to nearly 1.2 million. That’s the strongest growth in several years. Over half of those net new residents were the result of international immigration.
Nationally, international immigration was the largest driver of population increase in large metropolitan areas like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas. However, border crossings dropped sharply in the first part of 2024 and have continued to decline. If trends hold, international in-migration will diminish as a factor driving population change in subsequent years.
