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Jefferson County · Alabama

Birmingham, AL public schools

Enrollment, school count, staffing and per-pupil spending for Birmingham City — federal education data, not a star rating.

Yellow public school bus parked at dusk, illustrating local school district data

Quick answer

Birmingham City is the primary public district for Birmingham, AL. It enrolls 21,130 students in 49 schools with 1,115 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $13,068 per pupil, 25% below the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.

Students enrolled
21,130NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
Schools in the district
49Operating school count
Students per teacher
19Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
Spending per pupil
$13,068Total current expenditure, FY2020

Who pays for schools in Birmingham

Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.

Local revenue
36.3%
$113,193,000
State revenue
46.6%
$145,548,000
Federal revenue
17.1%
$53,353,000

Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Birmingham property tax rate and school funding move together. Of every dollar spent, about 49 cents reaches instruction — teacher salaries, benefits and classroom materials — with the rest covering transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Reading the Birmingham numbers

What the 2021-22 NCES and FY2020 Census finance numbers say about this district.

$13,068 per pupil is 25% below the $17,320 metro median; only 17% of tracked districts spend less. Only 49 cents of each dollar ($6,404 per student) is classified as instruction, so a large share goes to support services, facilities and transport — common in districts with long bus routes or older buildings.

Funding is split roughly evenly — 36.3% local, 46.6% state — so both the local tax base and the AL aid formula matter to what this district can spend. Federal dollars are an outsized 17.1% of revenue, a share that tracks concentrated student poverty (Title I) and special-education enrollment.

21,130 students across 49 schools averages 431 students per building, and the district is smaller than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Staffing is thin relative to peers: 19 students per FTE teacher against a 15.2 median, 3.8 students more per teacher.

What this data covers

Read this before comparing districts.

Figures cover Birmingham City (LEAID 0100390) as one unit, not any single school in Birmingham. Independently authorised charter schools, private schools and regional vocational programs are counted separately by NCES and are not in these totals. Enrollment is the 2021-22 NCES collection; dollars are the FY2020 Census F-33 survey, the latest complete national release. The two years differ, so per-pupil spending is a stable indicator rather than a live budget line.

Other Birmingham datasets on this site.

Statewide: Alabama cities · Alabama ZIP codes · Alabama sales tax · Alabama counties

Source: NCES Common Core of Data + Census F-33, via Urban Institute Education Data · rates as published for 2021-22 / FY2020

NCES LEAID 0100390. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.