What is the population of Selma city?

Selma city has 17,442 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #37 of 593 in Alabama.

What is the median household income in Selma city?

Median household income in Selma city is $32,184 a year, 59% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Selma city?

Median gross rent is $723 a month and the median home value is $102,500, so rent absorbs about 27% of median household income.

Is Selma city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 3.2× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Selma city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 27% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

Alabama · Census place 69120

Selma, AL population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Selma, Alabama (Selma, AL — Census place “Selma city”) is 17,442 residents, ranking #37 of 593 places in Alabama. Median household income is $32,184, the median home is worth $102,500 and median gross rent runs $723 a month. Looking for the Selma Alabama ZIP code list? 2 ZIP codes serve Selma, AL: 36701, 36703.

Population: 17,442Selma city residents
Median household income: $32,184Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $102,500Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $723Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 39.4 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 46.1%Owner-occupied households

Selma ZIP codes (Alabama)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Selma.

The Selma AL ZIP code list below covers 2 ZIP codes. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

What the numbers mean in Selma city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Selma city median would spend about 27% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 3.2× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 28.3% of residents and 46.1% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Selma city, AL in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Selma city is a mid-size town in Alabama, with 17,442 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #37 of 593 ranked by population — larger than 93% of them. The median age here is 39.4 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Selma city earn a median of $32,184 a year, 59% below the national figure of $78,538 and 42% below the $55,687 median for the 322 Alabama cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 28.3% of residents here, well above the 12.4% national rate, which is the single clearest signal in this dataset that median income here is carried by a narrow band of households.

The typical owner-occupied home in Selma city is valued at $102,500, 66.2% below the national figure and 35% below the $158,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $723 a month, 48.6% below the national figure, or roughly $8,676 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 27% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.2×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 46.1% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Alabama.

More Alabama coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Selma city?: Selma city has 17,442 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #37 of 593 in Alabama.
What is the median household income in Selma city?: Median household income in Selma city is $32,184 a year, 59% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Selma city?: Median gross rent is $723 a month and the median home value is $102,500, so rent absorbs about 27% of median household income.
Is Selma city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 3.2× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Selma city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 27% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Selma city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.