Pixabay

Fastest-growing counties in Alabama

From 2018 to 2019, the U.S. population grew by .48%, its slowest rate in 100 years. Declining births, increasing deaths largely due to the graying Baby Boomer population, and a crackdown on immigration have contributed to many states seeing net population losses in recent years.

But in other pockets of the country, populations are growing. These shifts can be due to job opportunities, high quality of life, easy commutability to job centers, low rents, or any combination of these or other factors. Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing counties in Alabama using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2019, based on 5-year estimates.

A county typically sees population growth as a “bedroom community” (a municipality with an atypically large commuting population) to a large city. These communities are typically quieter than their feeder cities, offer lower rents and a higher quality of living, and are remote enough to be immune to the feeder city’s crime, traffic, and crowds. Keep reading to see if your home county made the list.

Canva

#30. Bibb County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: -117
— #1,732 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -0.5%
— #31 among counties in Alabama, #1,667 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 22,493
— #45 largest county in Alabama, #1,701 largest county nationwide

Rivers Langley; SaveRivers // Wikimedia Commons

#29. Crenshaw County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: -84
— #1,678 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -0.6%
— #32 among counties in Alabama, #1,689 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 13,844
— #57 largest county in Alabama, #2,174 largest county nationwide

Rivers Langley; SaveRivers // Wikimedia Commons

#28. Henry County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: -15
— #1,578 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -0.1%
— #28 among counties in Alabama, #1,575 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 17,133
— #51 largest county in Alabama, #1,967 largest county nationwide

Rudi Weikard // Wikimedia Commons

#27. Franklin County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +83
— #1,449 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.3%
— #27 among counties in Alabama, #1,505 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 31,466
— #37 largest county in Alabama, #1,391 largest county nationwide

Rivers Langley; SaveRivers // Wikimedia Commons

#26. Cleburne County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +93
— #1,439 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.6%
— #24 among counties in Alabama, #1,438 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 14,916
— #54 largest county in Alabama, #2,103 largest county nationwide

Rudi Weikard // Wikimedia Commons

#25. Cherokee County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +203
— #1,340 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.8%
— #23 among counties in Alabama, #1,413 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 25,903
— #40 largest county in Alabama, #1,564 largest county nationwide

Dailynetworks // Wikimedia Commons

#24. Colbert County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +325
— #1,244 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.6%
— #25 among counties in Alabama, #1,442 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 54,771
— #25 largest county in Alabama, #926 largest county nationwide

Public Domain

#23. Pickens County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +326
— #1,242 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.6%
— #19 among counties in Alabama, #1,263 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 20,243
— #47 largest county in Alabama, #1,815 largest county nationwide

Wayne James // Shutterstock

#22. Lauderdale County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +794
— #1,039 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.9%
— #22 among counties in Alabama, #1,400 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 92,556
— #15 largest county in Alabama, #633 largest county nationwide

Canva

#21. Chilton County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +934
— #996 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.2%
— #16 among counties in Alabama, #1,181 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 44,055
— #29 largest county in Alabama, #1,090 largest county nationwide

Rudi Weikard // Wikimedia Commons

#20. Blount County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +989
— #976 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.7%
— #18 among counties in Alabama, #1,246 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 57,681
— #23 largest county in Alabama, #894 largest county nationwide

Kreeder13 // Wikimedia Commons

#19. Pike County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,186
— #937 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.7%
— #14 among counties in Alabama, #955 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 33,333
— #35 largest county in Alabama, #1,346 largest county nationwide

Canva

#18. DeKalb County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,272
— #913 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.8%
— #17 among counties in Alabama, #1,235 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 71,310
— #20 largest county in Alabama, #759 largest county nationwide

MPearsallArt // Wikimedia Commons

#17. Morgan County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,581
— #841 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.3%
— #21 among counties in Alabama, #1,314 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 119,213
— #9 largest county in Alabama, #523 largest county nationwide

Chris Pruitt // Wikimedia Commons

#16. Autauga County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,225
— #742 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.2%
— #13 among counties in Alabama, #891 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 55,380
— #24 largest county in Alabama, #914 largest county nationwide

M Floyd // Flickr

#15. Jefferson County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,768
— #686 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.4%
— #26 among counties in Alabama, #1,476 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 659,680
— #1 largest county in Alabama, #101 largest county nationwide

Chris Pruitt // Wikimedia Commons

#14. Cullman County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,912
— #672 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.6%
— #15 among counties in Alabama, #966 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 82,853
— #17 largest county in Alabama, #686 largest county nationwide

Calvin Beale // Wikimedia Commons

#13. Coffee County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +3,313
— #638 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +6.9%
— #9 among counties in Alabama, #620 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 51,662
— #27 largest county in Alabama, #965 largest county nationwide

Rivers A. Langley; SaveRivers // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Elmore County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +3,494
— #625 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.5%
— #12 among counties in Alabama, #853 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 81,144
— #18 largest county in Alabama, #694 largest county nationwide

Canva

#11. Marshall County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +4,776
— #552 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.3%
— #11 among counties in Alabama, #775 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 95,643
— #13 largest county in Alabama, #618 largest county nationwide

Altairisfar // Wikicommons

#10. Mobile County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +5,494
— #521 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.3%
— #20 among counties in Alabama, #1,313 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 414,114
— #2 largest county in Alabama, #169 largest county nationwide

Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Houston County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +5,673
— #513 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.7%
— #10 among counties in Alabama, #721 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 104,702
— #11 largest county in Alabama, #574 largest county nationwide

Rivers Langley SaveRivers // Wikimedia Commons

#8. Russell County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +6,289
— #489 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +12.2%
— #5 among counties in Alabama, #288 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 57,952
— #22 largest county in Alabama, #889 largest county nationwide

Rudi Weikard // Wikimedia Commons

#7. St. Clair County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +7,331
— #460 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +9.1%
— #8 among counties in Alabama, #461 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 87,989
— #16 largest county in Alabama, #657 largest county nationwide

Carol M. Highsmith // Wikimedia Commons

#6. Limestone County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +16,113
— #300 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +20.5%
— #2 among counties in Alabama, #98 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 94,727
— #14 largest county in Alabama, #622 largest county nationwide

Tracy Burroughs Brown // Shutterstock

#5. Tuscaloosa County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +18,974
— #274 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +10.1%
— #7 among counties in Alabama, #398 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 207,305
— #7 largest county in Alabama, #320 largest county nationwide

Rivers Langley; SaveRivers // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Shelby County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +25,552
— #215 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +13.6%
— #4 among counties in Alabama, #233 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 213,432
— #5 largest county in Alabama, #311 largest county nationwide

Library of Congress

#3. Lee County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +26,142
— #211 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +19.4%
— #3 among counties in Alabama, #112 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 161,152
— #8 largest county in Alabama, #404 largest county nationwide

Jodybwiki // Wikimedia Commons

#2. Baldwin County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +37,039
— #141 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +21.1%
— #1 among counties in Alabama, #91 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 212,830
— #6 largest county in Alabama, #313 largest county nationwide

Pixabay

#1. Madison County

– 2010 to 2019 population change: +39,196
— #130 among all counties nationwide
– 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +12.1%
— #6 among counties in Alabama, #293 among all counties nationwide
– 2019 population: 362,276
— #3 largest county in Alabama, #192 largest county nationwide