Birmingham

Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% from the 2020 Census, making it Alabama's third-most populous city after Huntsville and Montgomery. The broader Birmingham metropolitan area had a 2020 population of 1,115,289, and is the largest metropolitan area in Alabama. Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States. It is also home to three private institutions: Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Miles College. In higher education, Birmingham has been the location of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine (formerly the Medical College of Alabama) since 1947. The Birmingham area serves as headquarters to one Fortune 500 company: Regions Financial, along with five other Fortune 1000 companies. The city was named for Birmingham, England, one of that nation's major industrial cities. It was planned as a place where cheap, non-unionized, and often African-American labor from rural Alabama could be employed in the city's steel mills and blast furnaces, giving it a competitive advantage over industrial cities in the Midwest and Northeast. The growth of the city was impeded by an outbreak of cholera in 1873, but it began to develop shortly afterward at an explosive rate. The start of the 20th century brought substantial growth that gave Birmingham the nicknames "The Magic City" and "The Pittsburgh of the South".

History

Birmingham is the primary city name, but also Cahaba Heights, Cahaba Hts, Mountain Brk, Mountain Brook, Vestavia are acceptable city names or spellings, Mtn Brook on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is City of Birmingham. Birmingham was founded on June 1, 1871, by the Elyton Land Company. The town of Elyton, Alabama, and several other surrounding towns were absorbed into Birmingham in 1911. The Great Depression of the 1930s hit Birmingham especially hard as sources of capital that were fueling the city's growth rapidly dried up. In the 1950s and 1960s Birmingham received national and international attention as a center of the civil rights struggle for African-Americans. During the 1960s, Birmingham was the site of the "Project C" (Confrontation C) sit-ins, a massive assault on the Jim Crow system led by James Bevel. Birmingham was also the scene of racially motivated bombings that earned Birmingham the derisive nickname "Bombingham" and led to the creation of the Birmingham Museum of African-American History and Culture. The city is now home to the Alabama Museum of History and Art, which was founded in 1968. The Alabama State Museum of Art was established in 1973. The state museum is located in Birmingham's downtown area and is open to the public. It is the only museum in the state with a permanent collection of more than 2,000 works of art. The museum is also home to a collection of photographs of Birmingham's history and culture, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, which dates back to the early 20th century. The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is located on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It was founded by the Alabama State University in 1903 and is one of the oldest museums in the world.

Geography and climate

Birmingham has a humid subtropical climate, characterized by hot summers, mild winters, and abundant rainfall. Most of the precipitation that falls in the summer are from thunderstorms, most of which occur in the afternoon and evening hours. Birmingham is located on the heart of a Tornado Alley known as the Dixie Alley due to the high frequency of tornadoes in Central Alabama. The greater Birmingham area has been hit by two F5 tornadoes; one in Birmingham's northern suburbs in 1977. In late summer and fall, Birmingham experiences occasional tropical storms and hurricanes due to its proximity to the Central Gulf Coast. Earthquakes are generally minor and the Birmingham area can feel an earthquake from the Eastern Tennessee Seicism Zone. Birmingham has an abundance of suburbs. In 2007, the metropolitan area was made up of 7 counties, 102 cities, and 21 school districts. Some argue that the region suffers from having so many suburbs because companies can receive large incentives to move a short distance to another city, with no net gain in the area's economy. The city has a total area of 151.9 square miles (393 km²), of which, 149.9 sq mi (388 km²) is land and 2.0 sq mi/km² (1.34%) is water. The area has an average daily temperature of 43.8 °F (6.6 °C), and there is an average of 47 days annually with a low at or below freezing, and 1.4 where the high does not surpass freezing. July has a daily mean temperature of 81.1 °C (27.3 °C) on 65 days per year.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 200,733 people, 93,300 households, and 46,816 families residing in the city. The city is home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, covering 39 counties and comprising 75 parishes and missions. The Southern Baptist Convention has 673 congregations and 336,000 members in the Birmingham Metro area. The headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in America had been in Birmingham until the early 1980s. The main campus of the Church of the Highlands is located in Birmingham. The Catholic television network EWTN is headquartered in metropolitan Birmingham. There are three Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Metro Area as well, Greek, Russian and American. There is also a Unitarian Universalist church in theBirmingham area. In 2010, among metro areas with a greater than one million population, Birmingham had the second highest ratio of Christians, and the greatest ratio of Protestant adherents, in the United States. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males. The median income for a household in theCity was $31,898. The per capita income was $19,962. About 22.5% of families and 27.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.9% of those under the age of 18 and 18.3%) of those age 65 or over. The population density was 1,619.7 inhabitants per square mile (625.4/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 62.46% Black, 35.07% White, 0.17% Native American,0.04% Pacific Islander, and 0.83% from two or more races.

Economy

Birmingham is home to two of the largest soft-drink bottlers in the United States, each with more than $500 million in sales per year. The UAB Hospital is now the area's largest employer and the second largest in Alabama with a workforce of about 18,750 as of 2011. Birmingham has seen a noticeable decrease in the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city, due to mergers, moves, and buy-outs. The Birmingham area has consistently been rated as one of America's best places to work and earn a relatively low living expenses. In 2006, Birmingham ranked second in the nation for personal net worth based on local salary, living expenses, and unemployment rates. Birmingham's sales tax, which applies fully to groceries, is 10% and is the largest in the country. Birmingham is the location of the headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation, which has a 5% market share of deposits in Birmingham. In 2012, Birmingham was the 9th largest banking hub in the U.S. by the amount of locally headquartered deposits, and in 2014, it was the 10th largest bank center in America. The city has one of the nation's highest unemployment rates, at 6.7%. Birmingham's unemployment rate is 4.2%. Birmingham has the highest home ownership rate of any city in the state, and the highest rate of home ownership among the 100 largest cities in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average household income in the Magic City is $48,000.

Culture

Birmingham is the cultural and entertainment capital of Alabama. The city is home to the Alabama Ballet, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Ballet and Birmingham Concert Chorale. The Birmingham Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the Southeast. Downtown Birmingham is currently experiencing a cultural and economic rejuvenation, with several new independent shops and restaurants opening in the area. Birmingham's nightlife is primarily clustered around Five Points South and Lakeview, and a $55-million "Uptown" entertainment district has recently opened adjacent to the BJCC. The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame is housed in the historic Carver Theatre, and offers exhibits about the numerous notable jazz musicians from the state. The McWane Science Center is a regional science museum with hands-on science exhibits, temporary exhibitions, and an IMAX dome theater. Birmingham365.org is "a one-stop source for finding out what's going on where around" in the city. The Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, a celebration of new independent cinema in downtown Birmingham, was named one of Time magazine's "Film Festivals for the Rest of Us" in June 2006. It brings filmmakers from all over the world to Birmingham to have their films viewed and judged at eight venues around downtown. The Vulcan Park Museum features the world's largest cast iron statue of Vulcan, depicting the St. Louis Exposition and erected at Vulcan Park in 1938. Other unique museums include the Alabama Jazz. Hall of. Fame; the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, which contains the largest collection of motorcycles in the world; the Ironworks Historical Park at Tannehill Historical Park.

Sports

Birmingham was home to the Black Barons, a very successful Negro League team. The original incarnation of the USFL included the Birmingham Stallions, which played from 1983 to 1985 until the league folded in 1986. Birmingham hosted the US vs. Switzerland first round tie of the Davis Cup; the US won 41 to 41. The city has hosted several college football postseason bowl games, including the Dixie Bowl (194849), the Hall of Fame Classic (197785), the SEC Championship Game (199293), the Magic City Classic and, most recently, the Birmingham Bowl (formerly the Papajohns.com Bowl, 2006present) Birmingham has been selected to host the World pandemic Games in 2021. The NBA G League introduced the Birmingham Squadron, a minor league basketball team affiliated with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. The Birmingham area also hosts the Alabama Alliance basketball and Tragic City Rollers roller derby teams. The Indy Grand Prix of Alabama shares the Barber Motorsports Park road course with Superbike and sports car GrandAm races. The PGA Champions Tour has had a regular regular stop in the Birmingham area since 1992, with the founding of the Bruno Memorial Classic, later renamed the Regions Charity Classic, in 2011. In 2011 the tournament will be replaced by one of the Tradition's five "major" tour events, The Tradition Classic. The first time that an American city hosted the World Games was July 7-17, 1979, when Birmingham played the Central Hockey League from 1979 to 1981.

Government

Birmingham has a strong-mayor variant mayor-council form of government, led by a mayor and a nine-member city council. The current system replaced the previous city commission government in 1962. Executive powers are held entirely by the Mayor's Office. Birmingham is home to the Social Security Administration's Southeastern Program Service Center, one of only seven in the United States that process Social Security entitlement claims and payments. U.S. News & World Report ranked Birmingham as the third most dangerous city in the nation for 2011 (only Atlanta and St. Louis were ranked higher) The main post office is located at 351 24th Street North in Downtown Birmingham. The downtown district is patrolled by City Action Partnership (CAP), formed in 1995 to increase the perception of safety. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area was ranked as having the 35th highest crime rate in the U.s., out of 347 MSAs ranked in 2011 by CQ Press. The city is divided into 23 communities, and again into a total of 99 individual neighborhoods with individual neighborhood associations. In 1974, Birmingham established a structured network of neighborhood associations and community advisory committees to insure public participation in governmental issues that affect neighborhoods. Each neighborhood's officers meet with their peers to form Community Advisory Committees which are granted broader powers over city departments. The presidents of these committees, in turn, form the Citizen's Advisory Board, which meets regularly with the mayor, council, and department heads. The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Birmingham.

Education

The Birmingham Public Library administers 21 branches throughout the city and is part of a wider system including another 19 suburban branches in Jefferson County. The city of Birmingham is served by the Birmingham City Schools system with a current active enrollment of 30,500 in 62 schools. The greater-Birmingham metropolitan area is the home of numerous independent school systems, because there has a been a great deal of fragmentation of educational systems in Alabama. In 2005, the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School in Irondale, an eastern suburb of Birmingham, was rated as the No. 1 high school in America by Newsweek. Other local schools that have been rated among America's best in various publications include Homewood High School, Vestavia Hills High School and the Alabama School of Fine Arts located downtown. Noteworthy institutions of higher education in greater Birmingham include the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Samford University, Birmingham School of Law, Miles College, the independent Miles Law School, Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham-Southern College, University of Montevallo (in Shelby County), Lawson State Community college, and Virginia College in Birmingham, the largest career college based in Birmingham. The metro area also has three highly regarded preparatory schools: Saint Rose Academy located in Birmingham proper The Altamont School, also located inmingham proper, and Indian Springs School in north Shelby County near Pelham. The metropolitan area's three largest school systems are the Jefferson county School System, Birmingham City schools, and the Shelby County School System. However, there are many smaller school systems.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama = 3.5. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 80. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Birmingham = 5.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 22,558 individuals with a median age of 36.5 age the population dropped by -6.01% in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,365.37 residents per square mile of area (527.17/km²). There are average 2.31 people per household in the 94,591 households with an average household income of $31,596 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 12.50% of the available work force and has dropped -8.72% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 10.06%. The number of physicians in Birmingham per 100,000 population = 361.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Birmingham = 58.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 0.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 116. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 213. 91 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 34.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 30, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama which are owned by the occupant = 44.85%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 46 years with median home cost = $79,790 and home appreciation of -1.59%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $4.94 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,885 per student. There are 13.3 students for each teacher in the school, 349 students for each Librarian and 401 students for each Counselor. 5.73% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.51% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.04% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).