Irondale, Alabama

Area Profile

13,464 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Irondale, in Jefferson County.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 43% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,334th of 4,199 cities measured54
Schools3,346th of 4,162 cities measured26
GrowthTop 9% of 4,224 cities measured75
Housing affordabilityTop 25% of 4,218 cities measured75
ClimateTop 32% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilienceTop 49% of 4,226 cities measured59
AccessTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stability3,237th of 4,226 cities measured42
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $72,343, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Jefferson County, AL, which contains Irondale, rather than for Irondale alone.

In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.0 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 291 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, against 11 the year before.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
13,464
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,343
Top 42% nationally
Density
778/sq mi
17.3 sq mi of land
Median age
38.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Alabama
Metro area
Nearest major airport
BHM
6 mi · Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl
Median home value
$255,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Jefferson County, AL, which contains Irondale, is 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Jefferson County, AL, which contains Irondale, fell 1.9% over the past year, to 305,940 employed residents.

42% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 83% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsJefferson County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,57239th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftJefferson County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$72,83252nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,1822024 ACS 5-Year$72,343Top 42%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8,0992024 ACS 5-Year$45,131Top 23%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%Bottom 33%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.9 minTop 35%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year42.3%Top 17%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year80.9%63rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026305,940Top 25%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Jefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026−1.6%Bottom 28%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Jefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026−1.9%Bottom 25%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026318,06675th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year78.8%Top 48%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBirmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,770Bottom 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBirmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,770Bottom 22%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Jefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026+0.7%Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year10.9%64th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202472k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,343 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Birmingham, AL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses17,850$78,680
Retail Salespersons15,280$31,450
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive10,900$44,580
Stockers and Order Fillers10,890$35,660
Cashiers10,690$29,310
Fast Food and Counter Workers10,080$27,020

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Jefferson County, AL, which contains this city.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 41% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.0 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
33.9%
Bottom 13% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
40.6%
Bottom 30% in Alabama
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Shades Valley High SchoolJefferson County1,09416.845%52%
Irondale Community SchoolJefferson County43517.432%34%
Irondale Middle SchoolJefferson County43015.917%29%
Grantswood Community SchoolJefferson County39415.8——
WE Putnam Middle SchoolMagnetBirmingham City18410.812%15%

64.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Alabama’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Birmingham, AL Metro Area is up 39% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,223 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.48% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,544, some 17% above the $1,320 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,544 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $61,800 a year, about 85% of the median household income here of $72,343.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,320 a month.

A median home at $255,800 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $84,464, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
91.8

Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Birmingham, AL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,544
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,320
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$255,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Irondale’s median household income of $72,343, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure202391.8Top 12%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+38.9%37th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+85.4%37th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 34%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year60.1%20th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4782024 ACS 5-Year6,67591st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,407Bottom 49%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,932Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,544Top 43%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1242024 ACS 5-Year$1,320Bottom 26%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,0192024 ACS 5-Year$255,80066th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$922024 ACS 5-Year$1,22332nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,9222024 ACS 5-Year$84,464Top 43%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.48%10th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%Bottom 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%59th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2482024 ACS 5-Year58691st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

75/ 100
Top 9% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 13,545 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 10 units authorized in 2025, against 7 the year before.

78% of the 291 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Jefferson County, which contains Irondale, lost about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $66,572, below the $72,832 of households that moved out.

At 21.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
291
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
21.6
Top 2% nationally
Year over year
+2545%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
78.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202414k13k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
44%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$66,572
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$72,832
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Shelby County, AL 3,920 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. St. Clair County, AL 1,305 people · 6.0% of arrivals
  3. Tuscaloosa County, AL 1,043 people · 4.8% of arrivals
  4. Blount County, AL 666 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  5. Walker County, AL 600 people · 2.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Shelby County, AL 5,207 people · 21% of departures
  2. St. Clair County, AL 2,090 people · 8.5% of departures
  3. Tuscaloosa County, AL 1,004 people · 4.1% of departures
  4. Blount County, AL 847 people · 3.5% of departures
  5. Madison County, AL 736 people · 3.0% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Jefferson County, AL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251567.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−89%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 56.6 inches, including 1.4 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 57, in the Moderate band, and about 6 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BIRMINGHAM AP, 5.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year792024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals56.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals1.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year62024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year572024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
57
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
79
90th percentile index
Days above 100
6
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

59 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 55% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoHigh
LightningModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, strong wind, ice storm, wildfire, winter weather, hurricane, hail, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
206
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,271
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Irondale's police department reported 206 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,271.

Jefferson County records 16.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 24.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 27.9 per 100,000 residents in Jefferson County.

Homicide
16.4
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
24.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
27.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Irondale’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Irondale (Jefferson County) rather than Irondale itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl at 6 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year95.3%Top 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle6 miTop 11%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year3.8%Top 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM6 mi12,007 ft
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV76 mi10,001 ft
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM87 mi9,020 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
61
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—

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Other cities in Birmingham, AL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BirminghamJefferson County198,17348Birmingham vs Irondale
HooverJefferson County92,64271Hoover vs Irondale
Vestavia HillsJefferson County38,61664Vestavia Hills vs Irondale
AlabasterShelby County33,91764
HomewoodJefferson County27,82968
TrussvilleJefferson County26,67371
BessemerJefferson County25,40046
PelhamShelby County24,82764
Mountain BrookJefferson County22,02969
HelenaShelby County21,76963
CaleraShelby County17,71463
GardendaleJefferson County16,53461

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Irondale side by side with a similar place.

Irondale vs SeguinIrondale vs Shepherdsville

Moving to Irondale from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Irondale

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Irondale with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Irondale closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3521013,775$73,061$255,800—