Key Takeaways:
- In Alabama, only 29% of all residents are renters.
- In Birmingham on the other hand, more than half of all households are renter households.
- Birmingham’s rentership rate peaked at 59.5% in 2019, declining over the past five years to reach its lowest level of the last decade at 53.2% last year.
- These changes could point to a shift toward homeownership.
Alabama’s second largest city and one of its major economic centers, Birmingham serves as a regional economic, medical, and educational hub and is a renter-dominated city in a state where owners are the majority. Unlike the rest of the state, where renters only represent 29% of all residents, Birmingham’s renter households make up 53.2% at city level.
Being a significant manufacturing center with a diverse economy in banking, telecommunications, transportation, medicine and higher education and the headquarters to Fortune 500 companies Regions Financial and Vulcan Materials Company, Birmingham attracts many graduates and professionals of all ages, many of them seeing renting as the more flexible, easier to access housing option. That’s why renting in Birmingham remains most residents’ main choice, as is the case with many other major economic hubs.
The Decade in Renting in Birmingham, AL
Renting remains a significant part of the housing landscape in Birmingham, AL, with more than half of the city’s residents renting rather than owning their homes. As of 2024, the rentership rate stands at 53.2%, mirroring the rate from 2018 and representing a slight decline from recent years.
In fact, Birmingham’s rentership rate has fluctuated since its peak in 2019, when it reached 59.5%, only to get to the lowest level in a decade last year. This suggests a possible shift toward homeownership or changes in the housing market that have influenced residents’ decisions.
Between 2020 and 2023, the rentership rate fluctuated more heavily, but mostly remained above 55%, likely influenced by the economic uncertainty and housing pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the people who turned to renting likely considered it the more flexible and accessible housing alternative.
However, the steady drop to 53.2% in 2024 may reflect increasing confidence in the housing market, a growing interest in homeownership, or potentially higher rental costs pushing residents to seek more permanent solutions.
Over the last decade, Birmingham’s rentership rate has hovered between the low- to high-50% range, highlighting the city’s balanced mix of renters and homeowners. While fluctuations are evident, the overall trend suggests a relatively stable rental market.
For policymakers, developers, and potential residents, these figures provide valuable insight into housing demand and affordability in the region. And given that Alabama is among the top ten states with the most single-family rental completions in 2024, it looks like renters will continue to have quite diversified options.
As Birmingham continues to grow and evolve, maintaining a healthy balance between rental and ownership opportunities will be key to supporting a diverse and sustainable community.
Methodology
Point2Homes.com is a real estate listing portal for rental homes across the United States. Part of Yardi Systems, Point2Homes covers housing trends and news through comprehensive studies that draw from internal data, public records, governmental sources, and online research.
- For this study, we looked at rentership rates in Birmingham and the state of Alabama.
- The report uses data on rentership evolution between 2014 and 2024, as per the U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year estimates. Since ACS 1-year estimates were not published for 2020, data from the Decennial Census was used instead.
- Image: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
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