Demographics of Selma city, Alabama

Selma city, Alabama had 16,077 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −1,747 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Selma city, in four figures

16,077
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 17,057 ±19.; −9.8%
Change since July 2020: −1,747 people.; 38.5 ±2.4
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $33,197 ±$7,752
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Selma city, Alabama's population shrank 9.8% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Selma city, Alabama's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Selma city, Alabama's population shrank 9.8% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Selma city, Alabama's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	17,824	100.0	100.0
2021	17,428	97.8	100.2
2022	17,015	95.5	100.7
2023	16,720	93.8	101.6
2024	16,341	91.7	102.5
2025	16,077	90.2	103.1

Population of Selma city, Alabama on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	17,824	—
2021	17,428	−396
2022	17,015	−413
2023	16,720	−295
2024	16,341	−379
2025	16,077	−264

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 38.5 ±2.4: for men 34.6 ±2.5 and for women 41.9 ±3.2. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Selma city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Alabama	United States
Under 5	1,250 ±190	7.3% ±1.1	5.8% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	2,891 ±486	16.9% ±2.8	16.5% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	1,461 ±395	8.6% ±2.3	9.5% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	4,011 ±456	23.5% ±2.7	25.3% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	4,251 ±445	24.9% ±2.6	25.2% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	3,193 ±364	18.7% ±2.1	17.8% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $33,197 ±$7,752, and income per person $25,156 ±$2,667, in 2024 dollars. The median is $63,999 ±$399 in Alabama and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Selma city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Alabama	United States
Under $25,000	3,473 ±540	43.6% ±6.3	19.7% ±0.3	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	1,754 ±383	22.0% ±4.6	20.3% ±0.3	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	1,119 ±293	14.0% ±3.6	16.7% ±0.2	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	706 ±213	8.9% ±2.6	12.7% ±0.2	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	548 ±181	6.9% ±2.2	15.5% ±0.2	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	249 ±113	3.1% ±1.4	7.4% ±0.2	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	43 to 207	0.5% to 2.6%	7.8% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Selma city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Alabama	United States
All ages	5,154 ±757	30.8% ±4.5	15.6% ±0.2	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	1,811 ±443	44.1% ±8.3	21.3% ±0.4	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	2,132 ±434	25.9% ±4.8	14.7% ±0.2	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	1,211 ±280	27.7% ±5.7	12.4% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Selma city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Selma city	Alabama	United States
Housing units	9,431 ±395	2,337,265 ±430	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	84.6% ±3.2	85.5% ±0.3	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	15.4% ±2.8	14.5% ±0.3	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	46.0% ±3.4	70.2% ±0.4	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	54.0% ±4.6	29.8% ±0.3	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$96,500 ±$8,819	$209,900 ±$1,076	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$713 ±$44	$1,007 ±$8	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1971 ±2	1986 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Selma city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Alabama	United States
Hispanic or Latino	0 to 134	0% to 0.8%	5.6% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	2,527 ±345	14.8% ±2.0	63.4% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	14,074 ±366	82.5% ±2.1	25.6% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	199 ±62	1.2% ±0.4	1.4% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	17 to 73	0.1% to 0.4%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 21	0% to 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0 to 44	0% to 0.3%	0.4% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	46 to 218	0.3% to 1.3%	3.3% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Selma city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Alabama	United States
Born in the state	14,566 ±589	85.4% ±3.5	67.5% ±0.2	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	1,826 ±492	10.7% ±2.9	27.6% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	21 to 141	0.1% to 0.8%	1.0% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	258 to 910	1.5% to 5.3%	4.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	0 to 525	0% to 3.1%	1.6% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	121 to 527	0.7% to 3.1%	2.4% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Selma city among the places of Alabama

39th of 120 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Alabama page.

Places of Alabama near Selma city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Prichard city	18,961 ±57
Troy city	17,716 ±45
Calera city	17,714 ±82
Tillmans Corner CDP	17,677 ±1,237
Millbrook city	17,189 ±313
Selma city	17,057 ±19
Muscle Shoals city	16,951 ±25
Gardendale city	16,534 ±34
Hueytown city	16,414 ±37
Saraland city	16,404 ±48
Gulf Shores city	16,401 ±29

Rankings this appears in

No. 1 Places in Alabama by poverty rate
No. 12 Places in Alabama by median age
No. 17 Places by poverty rate
No. 72 Places in Alabama by per capita income
No. 82 Places in Alabama by median rent
No. 94 Places in Alabama by median household income

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026