Birmingham, Alabama sprawls throughout enchanting Jefferson County, in the lush Jones Valley area. With the rolling Appalachian foothills and Red Mountain as a backdrop, this picturesque city continues to delight tourists and residents alike. Birmingham reigns as the cultural and educational center of several counties in the region.
Birmingham, according to Census 2000 data, was home to 242,820 individuals. Birmingham, which serves as the county seat, remains the core city in the massive Greater Birmingham area, where more than one million individuals reside. This booming metropolitan area accounts for nearly a quarter of AL’s entire population. Birmingham comprises numerous communities, the most affluent of which include Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills.
Established in 1871, Birmingham quickly became an industrial hub for the region. The driving force behind the early economy was the presence of the raw materials used in steelmaking: coal, limestone and iron ore. Over the years, Birmingham’s steelmaking production decreased, while the sectors of banking, biotechnology, insurance, medicine and publishing moved to the economic forefront. Major employers in the Greater Birmingham area include the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Baptist Medical Centers, BellSouth and Jefferson County Public Schools respectively. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that this prominent business center enjoyed a per capita income increase of nearly one-hundred percent since 1990.
Birmingham serves as the educational center of the region and is home to some of the finest schools in America. Birmingham is the site of 276 public schools, 3 colleges, 3 universities, 3 technical schools, 3 religious training schools, 4 business schools and 4 junior colleges. Andrew Jackson University, Birmingham-Southern College, Jacksonville State University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham are among the area’s many fine institutions for higher learning.
This dynamic city indulges all of the senses with its world-class attractions, entertainment, restaurants, shopping venues and sporting events. As the cultural center for the region, Birmingham teems with art galleries, festivals, historic sites and museums such as Birmingham Museum of Art and the Southern Museum of Flight. Additional sites of cultural and historical significance include the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Arlington Home, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, the Talladega Superspeedway Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum and the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park. In addition, many of AL’s major ballet, opera and symphony orchestra companies perform in Birmingham.
Birmingham is home to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, one of the nation’s largest urban nature reserves, while Vulcan Park displays the largest cast iron statue in the world. The McWane Science Center greets visitors with an IMAX theater, fascinating fossil specimens and a variety of additional hands-on exhibits. Other popular tourist destinations include Alabama Adventure Themepark, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham Zoo, Kelly Ingram Park and Oak Mountain State Park. The region is also widely known as a biking, hiking and recreational fishing destination.
Birmingham, Alabama consistently ranks as one of the best cities in the nation in which to work and earn a living. In 2006, Salary.com named Birmingham 2nd in the U.S. for increasing personal net worth based on the city’s cost of living expenses, salary rates and rates of unemployment.
