Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Alabama

Cities in Alabama by population

Huntsville, AL had the highest population of 66 cities in 2023, at 226,024. Clay, AL had the lowest, at 10,224. The median was 19,394 and the figure for Alabama was 5.12 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest226,024Huntsville, AL
Lowest10,224Clay, AL
Median19,39466 cities
Alabama5,117,850History

Top 40 cities, 2023

Huntsville, AL: 226,024 personsHuntsville, AL226,024Mobile, AL: 202,114 personsMobile, AL202,114Birmingham, AL: 197,001 personsBirmingham, AL197,001Montgomery, AL: 195,923 personsMontgomery, AL195,923Tuscaloosa, AL: 112,920 personsTuscaloosa, AL112,920Hoover, AL: 92,494 personsHoover, AL92,494Auburn, AL: 82,393 personsAuburn, AL82,393Dothan, AL: 71,410 personsDothan, AL71,410Madison, AL: 60,813 personsMadison, AL60,813Decatur, AL: 57,769 personsDecatur, AL57,769Florence, AL: 42,425 personsFlorence, AL42,425Prattville, AL: 39,398 personsPrattville, AL39,398Phenix City, AL: 38,496 personsPhenix City, AL38,496Vestavia Hills, AL: 38,173 personsVestavia Hills, AL38,173Alabaster, AL: 34,177 personsAlabaster, AL34,177Opelika, AL: 33,685 personsOpelika, AL33,685Gadsden, AL: 33,299 personsGadsden, AL33,299Northport, AL: 31,169 personsNorthport, AL31,169Athens, AL: 30,955 personsAthens, AL30,955Daphne, AL: 30,469 personsDaphne, AL30,469Enterprise, AL: 30,320 personsEnterprise, AL30,320Homewood, AL: 27,828 personsHomewood, AL27,828Trussville, AL: 26,790 personsTrussville, AL26,790Fairhope, AL: 25,432 personsFairhope, AL25,432Pelham, AL: 25,175 personsPelham, AL25,175Foley, AL: 25,148 personsFoley, AL25,148Bessemer, AL: 24,950 personsBessemer, AL24,950Helena, AL: 23,298 personsHelena, AL23,298Albertville, AL: 23,159 personsAlbertville, AL23,159Oxford, AL: 22,106 personsOxford, AL22,106Mountain Brook, AL: 21,818 personsMountain Brook, AL21,818Anniston, AL: 21,163 personsAnniston, AL21,163Cullman, AL: 19,914 personsCullman, AL19,914Prichard, AL: 18,874 personsPrichard, AL18,874Calera, AL: 18,268 personsCalera, AL18,268Troy, AL: 17,811 personsTroy, AL17,811Millbrook, AL: 17,334 personsMillbrook, AL17,334Muscle Shoals, AL: 17,259 personsMuscle Shoals, AL17,259Gulf Shores, AL: 16,899 personsGulf Shores, AL16,899Chelsea, AL: 16,828 personsChelsea, AL16,828Huntsville, AL: 226,024 personsHuntsville, AL226,024Mobile, AL: 202,114 personsMobile, AL202,114Birmingham, AL: 197,001 personsBirmingham, AL197,001Montgomery, AL: 195,923 personsMontgomery, AL195,923Tuscaloosa, AL: 112,920 personsTuscaloosa, AL112,920Hoover, AL: 92,494 personsHoover, AL92,494Auburn, AL: 82,393 personsAuburn, AL82,393Dothan, AL: 71,410 personsDothan, AL71,410Madison, AL: 60,813 personsMadison, AL60,813Decatur, AL: 57,769 personsDecatur, AL57,769Florence, AL: 42,425 personsFlorence, AL42,425Prattville, AL: 39,398 personsPrattville, AL39,398Phenix City, AL: 38,496 personsPhenix City, AL38,496Vestavia Hills, AL: 38,173 personsVestavia Hills, AL38,173Alabaster, AL: 34,177 personsAlabaster, AL34,177Opelika, AL: 33,685 personsOpelika, AL33,685Gadsden, AL: 33,299 personsGadsden, AL33,299Northport, AL: 31,169 personsNorthport, AL31,169Athens, AL: 30,955 personsAthens, AL30,955Daphne, AL: 30,469 personsDaphne, AL30,469Enterprise, AL: 30,320 personsEnterprise, AL30,320Homewood, AL: 27,828 personsHomewood, AL27,828Trussville, AL: 26,790 personsTrussville, AL26,790Fairhope, AL: 25,432 personsFairhope, AL25,432Pelham, AL: 25,175 personsPelham, AL25,175Foley, AL: 25,148 personsFoley, AL25,148Bessemer, AL: 24,950 personsBessemer, AL24,950Helena, AL: 23,298 personsHelena, AL23,298Albertville, AL: 23,159 personsAlbertville, AL23,159Oxford, AL: 22,106 personsOxford, AL22,106Mountain Brook, AL: 21,818 personsMountain Brook, AL21,818Anniston, AL: 21,163 personsAnniston, AL21,163Cullman, AL: 19,914 personsCullman, AL19,914Prichard, AL: 18,874 personsPrichard, AL18,874Calera, AL: 18,268 personsCalera, AL18,268Troy, AL: 17,811 personsTroy, AL17,811Millbrook, AL: 17,334 personsMillbrook, AL17,334Muscle Shoals, AL: 17,259 personsMuscle Shoals, AL17,259Gulf Shores, AL: 16,899 personsGulf Shores, AL16,899Chelsea, AL: 16,828 personsChelsea, AL16,828
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2023
persons		Change on 2022
1Huntsville, AL226,024+1.7%
2Mobile, AL202,114-0.3%
3Birmingham, AL197,0010%
4Montgomery, AL195,923-0.6%
5Tuscaloosa, AL112,920+0.8%
6Hoover, AL92,494+0.2%
7Auburn, AL82,393+2.3%
8Dothan, AL71,410+0.2%
9Madison, AL60,813+1.8%
10Decatur, AL57,769+0.9%
11Florence, AL42,425+1.8%
12Prattville, AL39,398+1.7%
13Phenix City, AL38,496+0.6%
14Vestavia Hills, AL38,173-0.5%
15Alabaster, AL34,177+0.8%
16Opelika, AL33,685+2.7%
17Gadsden, AL33,299-0%
18Northport, AL31,169+0.4%
19Athens, AL30,955+8%
20Daphne, AL30,469+2.4%
21Enterprise, AL30,320+1.9%
22Homewood, AL27,828-0.2%
23Trussville, AL26,790+1.1%
24Fairhope, AL25,432+4.8%
25Pelham, AL25,175+1.7%
26Foley, AL25,148+5.1%
27Bessemer, AL24,950-0.8%
28Helena, AL23,298+1%
29Albertville, AL23,159+1.6%
30Oxford, AL22,106+0.4%
31Mountain Brook, AL21,818-0.8%
32Anniston, AL21,163-0.1%
33Cullman, AL19,914+3.4%
34Prichard, AL18,874-0.2%
35Calera, AL18,268+2.1%
36Troy, AL17,811+0.5%
37Millbrook, AL17,334+1.5%
38Muscle Shoals, AL17,259+1.2%
39Gulf Shores, AL16,899+3.6%
40Chelsea, AL16,828+3.6%
41Selma, AL16,720-1.7%
42Saraland, AL16,546+0.1%
43Gardendale, AL16,513-0.6%
44Hueytown, AL16,233-0.7%
45Hartselle, AL16,037+1.7%
46Scottsboro, AL15,866+1.3%
47Center Point, AL15,695-1%
48Fort Payne, AL14,942+0.6%
49Talladega, AL14,654-0.1%
50Jacksonville, AL14,649+1.6%
51Alexander City, AL14,503-0.8%
52Jasper, AL14,444+0.8%
53Ozark, AL14,316+0.5%
54Pell City, AL13,897+2.2%
55Moody, AL13,574+0.1%
56Irondale, AL13,535+1.4%
57Eufaula, AL12,510-0.4%
58Leeds, AL12,499+0.7%
59Sylacauga, AL12,220-0.4%
60Pike Road, AL11,089+4.2%
61Spanish Fort, AL10,918+2.7%
62Russellville, AL10,781-0%
63Boaz, AL10,427+1%
64Rainbow City, AL10,339+0.6%
65Valley, AL10,303+0.3%
66Clay, AL10,224-0.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January.
  • United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July.
  • United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June.
  • Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in Alabama by population, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Alabama by population, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/alabama-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in Alabama by population, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/alabama-cities?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Alabama by population, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/alabama-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Alabama by population, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/alabama-cities?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Alabama by population, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/alabama-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/alabama-cities?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in Alabama by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"municipality","within":"Alabama","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=municipality&within=Alabama&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Huntsville, AL, with 226,024 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Clay, AL, with 10,224 in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings

Cities in Alabama: more rankings