Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama
Alabama’s population increased by 34,000 last year to 5.1 million, driven by increased domestic migration and a decreasing number of deaths, according to the latest population estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau, covering the period between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023.
That’s the 15th fastest rate of growth among U.S. states and ranks 11th in terms of the number of people added. Still, Alabama’s growth rate trails other Sunbelt and Mountain West states, including Southeastern neighbors like Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and South and North Carolina.
Alabama’s death rate fell from the third-highest in 2021 to the sixth-highest in 2023. Still, more people died in Alabama than were born here, according to the 2023 estimates. But the gap narrowed. Births were up by about 150, and the estimated number of deaths in 2023 was down by almost 10,000 from the 2021 peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most of the population change resulted from people moving in from other states. The state received 30,744 domestic migrants, 2,000 more than moved in the year before. International migration into Alabama increased to 5,364 net new arrivals, or about 1,000 more than the year before.
In 2023, Alabama’s rate of domestic immigration was the 10th highest in the U.S. However, Alabama still has one of the lowest rates of international immigration among states, ranking No. 45.
Texas and Florida added the most people. New York, Illinois, and California saw the biggest declines. All the Southeastern states, with the exception of Louisiana and Mississippi, recorded population increases. That pattern has been consistent since 2020.
Census population and change estimates for counties, metro areas, and cities will be released later in the year. Use the tabs and menus in the visualizations to explore the data.
