• county
  • FIPS 01117
  • Largest town: Alabaster

Shelby County, Alabama

Shelby County had 235,969 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 785.5 square miles of land. It ranks 6th of 67 in Alabama by population and 21st by land area.

Population
235,969
#6 of 67 in Alabama · #305 in US
Area
785.5 sq mi
#21 of 67 in Alabama · #1,101 in US
Density
300 / sq mi
#5 of 67 in Alabama · #434 in US
Median household income
$90,280
#1 of 67 in Alabama · #239 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Shelby County within Alabama. Pin: Montgomery.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Shelby County

Shelby County population, land area and income

Shelby County had 235,969 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 785.5 square miles of land. It ranks 6th of 67 in Alabama by population and 21st by land area. That works out to 300.4 people per square mile, 3.1 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Alabama has 33,813 residents, so Shelby County is 7.0 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $90,280 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

235,969

3144th1st

305th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

785 sq mi

3144th1st

1101st of 3,144 (US)

Density

300.4 / sq mi

3144th1st

434th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$90,280

3143rd1st

239th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Alabama (67)

Population

235,969

67th1st

6th of 67 (AL)

Land area

785 sq mi

67th1st

21st of 67 (AL)

Density

300.4 / sq mi

67th1st

5th of 67 (AL)

Median household income

$90,280

67th1st

1st of 67 (AL)

How Shelby County's population changed since 2020

Shelby County gained 12,054 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 5.4%. That ranks 8th of 67 in Alabama for growth. The median Alabama county changed by +0.2%, and the state as a whole by +2.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Shelby County recorded 10,064 births and 7,900 deaths, a natural change of +2,164. Net international migration added +2,268 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +8,607. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 8,607 people.

223.9k2020227.4k2021230.1k2022233.6k2023236.0k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
10,064
Deaths
7,900
Net international migration
+2,268
Net domestic migration
+8,607
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+2,376

Where Shelby County is

The Census internal point of Shelby County is at 33.266900, -86.661000. It sits in UTM zone 16N. The map shades Alabama's 67 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Shelby County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Clay County: +0.2%Baldwin County: +12.2%Coffee County: +5.2%Fayette County: -2.9%Chilton County: +4.9%Perry County: -8.7%Lamar County: -2.9%Morgan County: +2.2%Bibb County: +0.4%Butler County: -4.1%Barbour County: -2.5%Franklin County: -0.6%Chambers County: -2.2%Macon County: -6.7%Marshall County: +4.6%DeKalb County: +2.0%Russell County: -0.7%Geneva County: +2.1%Houston County: +1.9%Greene County: -7.5%Talladega County: -0.1%Monroe County: -3.3%Mobile County: -0.5%Covington County: +0.6%Cullman County: +5.1%Lauderdale County: +3.7%Shelby County: +5.4%Clarke County: -3.7%Lowndes County: -7.8%St. Clair County: +5.7%Choctaw County: -4.5%Blount County: +1.8%Dallas County: -6.9%Conecuh County: -3.8%Elmore County: +3.6%Autauga County: +4.3%Henry County: +5.6%Montgomery County: -1.1%Jefferson County: -1.5%Hale County: +2.3%Jackson County: +2.4%Madison County: +8.4%Washington County: -2.0%Bullock County: -3.2%Pike County: +0.7%Crenshaw County: -0.4%Dale County: +1.6%Lee County: +7.4%Cleburne County: +5.6%Tallapoosa County: -1.4%Lawrence County: +1.5%Pickens County: -2.4%Colbert County: +2.6%Winston County: +1.6%Marion County: +0.5%Calhoun County: +0.2%Etowah County: -0.2%Randolph County: +4.4%Wilcox County: -6.3%Tuscaloosa County: +3.7%Sumter County: -4.8%Walker County: +0.2%Cherokee County: +4.6%Escambia County: -0.2%Limestone County: +14.1%Coosa County: -0.5%Marengo County: -3.9%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -3.2%
  2. < -0.5%
  3. < +1.6%
  4. < +4.3%
  5. ≥ +4.3%
no data

Orange pin: Shelby County internal point. Dark pin: Montgomery.

Internal point

Decimal
33.266900, -86.661000
DMS
33°16'0.84"N 86°39'39.60"W
UTM
16N 531572.4E 3680927.4N
Geohash
djfm7bp3s
Plus code
865M788Q+QJ

Towns in Shelby County

16 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Shelby County, 168,040 people together, or 71% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Shelby County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Alabaster with 34,460.

  1. 01Alabaster34,460
  2. 02Hoover (part)27,590
  3. 03Pelham25,396
  4. 04Helena (part)19,622
  5. 05Calera (part)18,452
  6. 06Chelsea17,293
  7. 07Montevallo7,761
  8. 08Columbiana4,904
  9. 09Indian Springs Village2,551
  10. 10Vincent2,039
  11. 11Westover2,010
  12. 12Birmingham (part)1,950
  13. 13Wilsonville1,948
  14. 14Harpersville1,925
  15. 15Leeds (part)105
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Shelby County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Shelby County. The most populous is Jefferson County, AL, with 664,744 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Montgomery and the nearest big city

Montgomery is 65.0 miles SSE of Shelby County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Birmingham, AL (population 196,357), 19.6 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Chelsea, AL (population 17,293), 3.3 miles away.

Shelby County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Shelby County is 01117: state code 01 for Alabama plus county code 117. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $90,280.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Shelby County, Alabama?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 235,969. That is up 12,054 people (5.4%) from the July 2020 estimate of 223,915.

What is the FIPS code of Shelby County?

01117. The first two digits (01) are Alabama; the last three (117) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Shelby County?

Alabaster, with 34,460 residents inside Shelby County in 2024.

Which counties border Shelby County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Jefferson County, AL; St. Clair County, AL; Talladega County, AL; Chilton County, AL; Bibb County, AL; Coosa County, AL.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.