Irondale, Alabama
Area Profile
13,464 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Irondale, in Jefferson County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesUnemployment 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
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.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsJefferson County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $66,572 | 39th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftJefferson County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $72,832 | 52nd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$7,1822024 ACS 5-Year | $72,343 | Top 42%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$8,0992024 ACS 5-Year | $45,131 | Top 23%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year | 15.6% | Bottom 33%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 23.9 min | Top 35%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 42.3% | Top 17%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.9% | 63rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | 305,940 | Top 25%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Jefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.6% | Bottom 28%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Jefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.9% | Bottom 25%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | 318,066 | 75th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.8% | Top 48%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageBirmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $60,770 | Bottom 17%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageBirmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $47,770 | Bottom 22%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Jefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.7% | Bottom 9%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJefferson County, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.8% | Top 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.9% | 64th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Birmingham, AL
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 17,850 | $78,680 |
| Retail Salespersons | 15,280 | $31,450 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 10,900 | $44,580 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 10,890 | $35,660 |
| Cashiers | 10,690 | $29,310 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 10,080 | $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.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shades Valley High School | Jefferson County | 1,094 | 16.8 | 45% | 52% |
| Irondale Community School | Jefferson County | 435 | 17.4 | 32% | 34% |
| Irondale Middle School | Jefferson County | 430 | 15.9 | 17% | 29% |
| Grantswood Community School | Jefferson County | 394 | 15.8 | — | — |
| WE Putnam Middle SchoolMagnet | Birmingham City | 184 | 10.8 | 12% | 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →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.
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.
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.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2023 | 91.8 | Top 12%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.4% | 54th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +38.9% | 37th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +85.4% | 37th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year | 3.0 | Bottom 34%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 60.1% | 20th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±4782024 ACS 5-Year | 6,675 | 91st percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,407 | Bottom 49%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,932 | Top 39%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,544 | Top 43%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1242024 ACS 5-Year | $1,320 | Bottom 26%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$18,0192024 ACS 5-Year | $255,800 | 66th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$922024 ACS 5-Year | $1,223 | 32nd percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$7,9222024 ACS 5-Year | $84,464 | Top 43%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.48% | 10th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.8% | Bottom 47%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year | 0 | 1st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.8% | 59th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2482024 ACS 5-Year | 586 | 91st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Shelby County, AL 3,920 people · 18% of arrivals
- St. Clair County, AL 1,305 people · 6.0% of arrivals
- Tuscaloosa County, AL 1,043 people · 4.8% of arrivals
- Blount County, AL 666 people · 3.1% of arrivals
- Walker County, AL 600 people · 2.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Shelby County, AL 5,207 people · 21% of departures
- St. Clair County, AL 2,090 people · 8.5% of departures
- Tuscaloosa County, AL 1,004 people · 4.1% of departures
- Blount County, AL 847 people · 3.5% of departures
- 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
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.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 79 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 56.6" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 1.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 35°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 91°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 6 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 57 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 37°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 95.3% | Top 24%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 6 mi | Top 11%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 20%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.8% | Top 29%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl | BHM | 6 mi | 12,007 ft |
| Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld | HSV | 76 mi | 10,001 ft |
| Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld) | MGM | 87 mi | 9,020 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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Other cities in Birmingham, AL
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | Jefferson County | 198,173 | 48 | Birmingham vs Irondale |
| Hoover | Jefferson County | 92,642 | 71 | Hoover vs Irondale |
| Vestavia Hills | Jefferson County | 38,616 | 64 | Vestavia Hills vs Irondale |
| Alabaster | Shelby County | 33,917 | 64 | |
| Homewood | Jefferson County | 27,829 | 68 | |
| Trussville | Jefferson County | 26,673 | 71 | |
| Bessemer | Jefferson County | 25,400 | 46 | |
| Pelham | Shelby County | 24,827 | 64 | |
| Mountain Brook | Jefferson County | 22,029 | 69 | |
| Helena | Shelby County | 21,769 | 63 | |
| Calera | Shelby County | 17,714 | 63 | |
| Gardendale | Jefferson County | 16,534 | 61 |
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.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Irondale side by side with a similar place.
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 for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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 areaEvery 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.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35210 | 13,775 | $73,061 | $255,800 | — |