Top Biggest Cities in Alabama

Alabama's cities range from booming metros to historic river towns, each with its own identity and economic engine. Here are the largest and most influential.

Huntsville (population ~225,000) recently surpassed Birmingham as Alabama's largest city. The "Rocket City" is powered by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, and a booming tech and defense sector. Huntsville's growth rate is among the highest in the Southeast, with new restaurants, breweries, and neighborhoods transforming the city.

Birmingham (population ~196,000) is Alabama's historic industrial capital and cultural center. Once known as the "Pittsburgh of the South" for its steel industry, Birmingham has reinvented itself with a thriving food scene, medical district (UAB), and Civil Rights heritage. The city's James Beard Award-winning restaurants have put it on the national culinary map.

Montgomery (population ~200,000) is the state capital and a city of enormous historical significance. It served as the first capital of the Confederacy and later became the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice draw visitors from around the world.

Mobile (population ~185,000) is Alabama's port city on the Gulf Coast, with a 300-year history that predates the United States. Mobile claims the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in America (started in 1703, before New Orleans existed). The city's tree-lined avenues, historic homes, and waterfront are distinctly different from the rest of Alabama.

Tuscaloosa (population ~110,000) is a college town dominated by the University of Alabama. On game days, the population swells by 100,000+. Beyond football, Tuscaloosa has a growing arts scene and is the center of Alabama's western Black Belt region.

Hoover (population ~95,000) is Birmingham's largest suburb and one of the most affluent cities in Alabama. It's home to the Hoover Met Complex (featured in the MTV series "Two-A-Days") and the Riverchase Galleria, one of the largest malls in the Southeast.

Dothan (population ~72,000) in the Wiregrass region is the peanut capital of the world and serves as a commercial hub for southeastern Alabama, southwestern Georgia, and the Florida panhandle.

Alabama's cities are growing, diversifying, and rewriting their stories.