These are Alabama’s 10 fastest-growing counties
More than half of Alabama’s counties grew from 2022 to 2023, according to the latest Census data released Thursday.
Despite declines in the state’s Black Belt counties and small increases in others, like Mobile County, the statewide population ticked up a little, rising by 0.7%, per the new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Alabama gained 34,565 new residents. But the growth is not shared equally across the state.
Just four counties account for roughly half of the new people in Alabama. Thousands each year move to Madison, Limestone, Baldwin and Shelby counties.
The census data shows 38 of Alabama’s 67 counties added residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023.
See if your county grew from 2022 to 2023.
These are the 10 fastest-growing counties in Alabama:
1. Limestone County (3.4%)
Now home to 114,654 people, the north Alabama county has been the state’s fastest-growing for four of the last five years. Home to Athens and Huntsville suburbs, Limestone County added nearly 3,800 people, growing 3.4% in one year.
2. Baldwin County (2.8%)
Baldwin County is home to the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. (AL.com file photo/Joe Songer)
Baldwin County’s growth has been hard to ignore over the last decade, and in 2023 its surge continued, up 2.8% since the previous year. The coastal county in south Alabama added nearly 7,000 people from 2022 to 2023, bringing its estimated population to 253,507.
3. Madison County (2.2%)

Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County, which is quickly growing. (AP Photo/David Goldman)AP
Madison County, which includes Huntsville, grew by 2.2% from 2022 to 2023. Now home to 412,600 people, it’s the second-largest county in the state, surpassing Mobile. In 2023, Madison County added nearly 9,000 more people, the highest raw total in the state.
4. Hale County (2%)
Hale’s growth was a bit unusual for Alabama, a growing rural county. The population of Hale County, a county in the Black Belt that includes Greensboro, grew 2% from 2022 to 2023. The county added nearly 300 new people in that time frame, bringing its population to 14,888.
5. St. Clair County (1.8%)
St. Clair County, which includes suburbs east of Birmingham, saw a 1.8% growth in population from 2022 to 2023. The county, now home to 95,552 people, has been growing steadily in recent years and added nearly 1,700 new people in that year.
6. Cleburne County (1.7%)
Cheaha Mountain is located at Cheaha State Park in Cleburne County. (Dennis Pillion / AL.com)Dennis Pillion
Cleburne County in east Alabama grew by 1.7% from 2022 to 2023. The county, which includes parts of the Talladega National Forest and Cheaha State Park, added 267 people in that year. Its population is now at 15,639.
7. Cullman County (1.5%)
Cullman County in north Alabama grew by 1.5% from 2022 to 2023. The county, home to Cullman, added 1,353 people in one year, reaching 92,016 residents.
8. Coffee County (1.5%)
Coffee County, home to 55,643 people in the southeastern part of the state, grew nearly 1.5% from 2022 to 2023. The county added 803 people in that year.
9. Randolph County (1.5%)
Randolph County, in east Alabama, grew nearly 1.5% from 2022 to 2023. The county, which borders Georgia, added 326 people in that year, reaching 22,786 residents.
10. Lee County (1.4%)

The Auburn University campus is located in Lee County. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com)Ben Flanagan
Lee County, the home of Auburn and Opelika, grew 1.4% from 2022 to 2023. The county, where Auburn University and Southern Union State Community College are located, added 2,517 people in one year, reaching a population of 183,215.
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