Jefferson County · Alabama
Birmingham, AL jobs and wages
Who works here, what they earn, and which industries carry the local economy — Census ACS estimates for the city itself, not the wider metro.
Quick answer
Workers in Birmingham, AL earn a median of $33,773 a year, 24% below the national median of $44,587. Unemployment is 6.1% against 5.2% nationally, and education, health care & social assistance is the largest employer at 26.7% of jobs.
- Median earnings
- $33,773#86 of 94 metros
- Unemployment rate
- 6.1%US 5.2%
- Labor force participation
- 58.5%US 63.5%
- People employed
- 90,956Civilian employed, age 16+
What Birmingham does for a living
Share of the civilian employed population by industry, largest first.
- Education, health care & social assistance26.7%
- Retail trade12.4%
- Professional, scientific & management10.6%
- Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation & food9.8%
- Manufacturing8.5%
- Transportation, warehousing & utilities7.2%
- Finance, insurance & real estate6.4%
- Construction5.1%
- Other services, except public administration4.8%
- Public administration4.7%
- Wholesale trade2.1%
- Information1.4%
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting & mining0.4%
Related data for Birmingham
Earnings only mean something next to what things cost.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates
Tables B23025, B20002 and C24030, 2019-2023 ACS 5-year. Industry shares combine the male and female columns of C24030 and are rounded, so they may not total exactly 100%.