Alabama:

A Demographic and Electoral Profile

Republican presidential nominees have dominated Alabama politics in the twenty-first century. Since 2004, Republican candidates have carried the state by margins exceeding twenty percentage points, including Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, when he received 1,462,616 votes (64.57%) against Kamala Harris’s 772,412 votes (34.10%). Alabama continues to hold nine electoral votes, a number it has maintained since 1972 and will retain through the 2028 election cycle. Of the state’s seven congressional districts, Republicans currently control five while Democrats hold two seats following the latest congressional redistricting.

Alabama comprises roughly 1.5% of the total population of the United States and remains the twenty-fourth most populous state in the nation. According to official 2025 Census estimates, the state’s population stands at approximately 5,193,088 people, reflecting steady growth over the past decade. Between 2010 and 2025, Alabama experienced continued demographic expansion driven by urban growth, economic development, migration, and the expansion of technology and manufacturing sectors in several metropolitan areas.

The state’s largest city is now Huntsville, whose estimated 2024 population reached approximately 230,402 residents. Huntsville has emerged as one of the fastest-growing technology and aerospace centers in the American South, shaped by the presence of NASA facilities, defense industries, and advanced research institutions. Montgomery, the state capital and historically one of the most significant cities of the American Civil Rights Movement, has an estimated population of approximately 195,818 people.

Unlike many states where populations are concentrated within a few metropolitan regions, Alabama’s population remains relatively distributed across different regions. The ten most populous cities are spread across eight counties and represent several distinct geographic and cultural zones within the state. Alabama’s traditional nickname, the “Yellowhammer State,” derives from the yellowhammer woodpecker, whose yellow plumage inspired a nickname used for Alabama Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.

Alabama entered the Union in December 1819 and participated in every presidential election beginning in 1820 except the election of 1864 during the Civil War period following secession. Politically, Alabama remained a Democratic stronghold from Reconstruction through the middle of the twentieth century. In the 1960 presidential election, six of Alabama’s eleven Democratic electors were officially unpledged and ultimately cast their votes for Senator Harry F. Byrd rather than the Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy.

Administratively, Alabama is divided into sixty-seven counties and contains 461 municipalities, consisting of 174 cities and 287 towns. The state’s demographic composition continues to evolve. Recent estimates place the foreign-born population between 4.0% and 4.5% of the total population, amounting to approximately 231,000 residents. Immigrant communities have contributed significantly to the economic, educational, medical, and technological development of the state. Among the largest immigrant-origin groups are people from Mexico, India, China, Guatemala, and Germany.

People of predominantly English ancestry constitute approximately twenty to twenty-three percent of Alabama’s population. The state also has one of the highest African American population percentages in the United States, reflecting a deep and complex historical legacy shaped by slavery, Reconstruction, segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and contemporary social transformation. Many residents identify their ancestry simply as “American,” a reflection of generations-long roots in the region.

Religion continues to occupy a central place in Alabama’s social and cultural identity. Christianity remains the dominant faith tradition, with approximately 86% of residents identifying as Christian. Protestants constitute nearly 78% of the population, including Evangelical Protestants, Mainline Protestants, and historically Black churches. Catholics comprise approximately 7% of the population, while smaller Christian communities include Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Eastern Orthodox Christians. Approximately 12% of residents identify as religiously unaffiliated, including those describing themselves as agnostic, atheist, or “nothing in particular.”

Alabama occupies an important place within what is commonly described as the “Bible Belt,” a region of the American South characterized by strong Protestant Christian influence and high rates of religious participation. Roughly 58% of Alabama residents report attending religious services regularly, making Alabama one of the most religious states in the United States. Among Christian denominations, the Southern Baptist Convention remains the single largest religious body in the state.

Jewish communities have existed in Alabama since at least 1763, particularly in the colonial port city of Mobile, where Sephardic Jews arrived from London during the colonial period. The oldest Jewish congregation in Alabama is Congregation Sha’arai Shomayim in Mobile. Later waves of Jewish immigration during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought primarily Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe. Today, Alabama’s Jewish community includes Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Humanistic congregations spread across different cities.

Muslim communities have grown steadily throughout Alabama during recent decades. By 2024, the Muslim population was estimated at approximately 25,000 people. Since the late twentieth century, dozens of mosques and Islamic centers have been established across the state, many founded by African American Muslims as well as immigrant communities from South Asia, the Arab world, Africa, and Afghanistan. Muslim communities are particularly visible in cities such as Huntsville, Madison, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile.

The Huntsville Islamic Center (HIC) represents one of the state’s most active Muslim institutions. Beyond serving as a mosque, the center functions as a community institution offering Sunday schools, summer educational programs, Qur’anic and Arabic instruction, youth activities, and social services. HIC also operates an Islamic school serving students from preschool through eighth grade and organizes sports and educational programs for young people.

Indian immigrants and their descendants have also contributed to Alabama’s expanding religious diversity through the establishment of Hindu temples and cultural institutions. Prominent examples include the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Birmingham, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Birmingham in Pelham, the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama in Capshaw, and the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Center in Tuscaloosa. These institutions function not only as places of worship but also as centers of language preservation, cultural education, and community life.

Buddhist communities, especially Theravada Buddhist communities connected to Southeast Asian refugee populations, also maintain an established presence in Alabama. Several Buddhist temples are concentrated in southern Mobile County near Bayou La Batre, an area that experienced significant migration from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam during and after the 1970s refugee crises associated with the Vietnam War. Temples in the region include Chua Chanh Giac, Wat Buddharaksa, and Wat Lao Phoutthavihan, which continue to serve religious and cultural functions for local Southeast Asian communities.

In congressional politics, Alabama cast approximately 2,048,663 votes in the 2024 United States House elections. Republican candidates collectively received approximately 1,508,610 votes, while Democratic candidates received approximately 517,881 votes, with additional write-in ballots recorded across districts.

The influence of pro-Israel political networks and lobbying organizations has become increasingly visible in Alabama’s congressional landscape. Publicly available congressional tracking records associated with AIPAC indicate that at least six of Alabama’s seven congressional districts—AL-02, AL-03, AL-04, AL-05, AL-06, and AL-07—appear within its broader influence and endorsement network. Names associated with these districts include Shomari Figures, Barry Moore, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Dale Strong, Gary Palmer, and Terri Sewell. The only district absent from the referenced tracking snapshot was AL-01.

The district-level financial figure directly verified from congressional tracking records in this review concerns Alabama’s Second Congressional District, where Congressman Shomari Figures reportedly received approximately $181,458 from pro-Israel lobbying organizations and affiliated donors. The scale of funding appears to vary significantly by district, but the broader pattern suggests that Alabama’s congressional delegation has become increasingly integrated into national lobbying and donor networks connected to Middle Eastern policy debates and U.S.-Israel relations.