Moving to Montgomery, Alabama

About Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery

Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for Continental Army Major General Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 200,603 at the 2020 census. It is the third-most populous city in the state after Huntsville and Birmingham, and is the 128th most populous in the United States. The Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area's population in 2022 was 385,460; it is the fourth largest in the state and 142nd among United States metropolitan areas.

The city was incorporated in 1819 as a merger of two towns situated along the Alabama River. It replaced Tuscaloosa as the state capital in 1846, representing the shift of power to the south-central area of Alabama with the growth of cotton as a commodity crop of the Black Belt and the rise of Mobile as a mercantile port on the Gulf Coast. In February 1861, Montgomery was chosen the first capital of the Confederate States of America, which it remained until the Confederate seat of government moved to Richmond, Virginia, in May of that year. In the middle of the 20th century, Montgomery was a major center of events and protests in the Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery bus boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches.

In addition to housing many Alabama government agencies, Montgomery has a large military presence, due to Maxwell Air Force Base. It has three public universities (Alabama State University, Troy University (Montgomery campus), and Auburn University at Montgomery), two private post-secondary institutions (Faulkner University and Huntingdon College), high-tech manufacturing (particularly Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama), and many cultural attractions, such as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

Montgomery has also been recognized nationally for its downtown revitalization and new urbanism projects. It was one of the first cities in the nation to implement SmartCode Zoning.

Gender
Gender Montgomery Alabama Country
Female 53.1% 51.7% 50.8%
Male 46.9% 48.3% 49.2%
Gender

Household Income


Income Montgomery Alabama Country
Less than $10,000 9.3% 8.1% 5.8%
$10,000 to $14,999 6.6% 5.6% 4.1%
$15,000 to $24,999 10.5% 10.9% 8.5%
$25,000 to $34,999 10.5% 10.5% 8.6%
$35,000 to $49,999 13.5% 13.2% 12.0%
$50,000 to $74,999 19.1% 17.5% 17.2%
$75,000 to $99,999 10.7% 11.8% 12.8%
$100,000 to $149,999 11.8% 13.1% 15.6%
$150,000 to $199,999 4% 4.9% 7.1%
$200,000 or more 4% 4.4% 8.3%
Education


Education Montgomery Alabama Country
< 9th Grade 4% 4% 5.0%
9-12th Grade 9% 9% 7.0%
High School or GED 24% 30% 27.0%
Other College 22% 22% 20.0%
Associate's Degree 8% 9% 9%
Bachelor's Degree 19% 16% 20.0%
Master's Degree 11% 7% 9.0%
Professional Degree 2% 2% 2.0%
Doctorate Degree 1% 1% 1.0%
Household Income
Education
Race / Ethnicity


Ethnicity Montgomery Alabama Country
White 29.9% 65.2% 60.1%
African American 60.6% 26.4% 12.2%
American Indian 0.1% 0.4% 0.6%
Asian 3.2% 1.4% 5.6%
Hawaiian 0% 0% 0.2%
Other 0.1% 0.2% 0.3%
Multiracial 2.3% 1.9% 2.8%
Hispanic 3.8% 4.4% 18.2%
Race / Ethnicity