Most of the fastest-shrinking Alabama cities in 2023 were in the Birmingham metro area – continuing the trend of a declining population around what was long the state’s largest city.

But the Jefferson County cities aren’t losing population as fast as Selma, the Black Belt’s iconic civil rights town, which was the fastest-shrinking city from 2022 to 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

From July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023, Selma lost 341 residents, bringing its official population estimate to 16,666. That’s a decline of 2% in a single year – the largest drop among Alabama cities with more than 10,000 residents.

The second fastest-shrinking city, Center Point, saw a 1.1% decrease. Located in Jefferson County, Center Point is now home to 15,705.

Six other cities in Jefferson County, home of Birmingham, were among the 10 fastest-shrinking. The city of Birmingham lost 243 people in a single year and now has 196,444 residents. But Montgomery is shrinking much faster. And Birmingham slipped ahead of Montgomery at this latest count and is once again the second most populous city in Alabama. For now.

Like Birmingham, both Mobile and Montgomery shrank in population. Mobile lost 695 people and Montgomery dropped 1,657, to fall behind Birmingham. However, Mobile recently voted to add nearly 20,000 new residents to the city limits. At this time next year, when the next federal estimates come out, Mobile will officially be the second largest city in Alabama.

Huntsville, the most populous city in Alabama, grew by 3,534 residents from 2022-2023 for a total population of 225,564.

(Can’t see the chart? Click here.)

While Alabama saw population decreases in the Black Belt and three of the four major cities – the state’s beach and college towns grew rapidly.

1. Selma -2% The Dallas County city now has a total population of 16,666 after losing 341 residents in 2023.
2. Center Point -1.1% Jefferson County’s fastest-shrinking city lost 175 people in 2023 bringing the total population to 15,705.
3. Alexander City -1% Located in Tallapoosa County, the city now has 14,470 residents. In 2023, it lost 150 people.
4. Bessemer -1% Also in Jefferson County, the North Birmingham city lost 251 residents, bringing the total population to 25,037
5. Hueytown -.9% Another Jefferson County city to dwindle in population, Hueytown lost 154 people in 2023. The city now has a population of 16,202.
6. Mountain Brook -.9% The affluent city now has a population of 21,737 after losing 204 residents.
7. Montgomery -.8% Alabama’s capital city lost 1,657 people in 2023 and now has a population of 195,287.
8. Gardendale -.7% Another Jefferson County city to see a decline, Gardendale lost 117 residents for a 2023 population of 16,096.
9. Vestavia Hills -.7% Vestavia’s population of 38,020 came after the city lost 266 in 2023.
10. Eufaula – .7% Located in southeastern Barbour County, Eufaula lost 84 people for a population of 12,451.

See if your city grew from 2022 to 2023.

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Alabama baseball won its regular season finale at Auburn 12-5 on Saturday in a game that lasted over six hours due to a ninth-inning weather delay. Auburn clinched the series with wins on Thursday and Friday, but Alabama avoided the sweep with Saturday’s victory.

The No. 24 Crimson Tide (33-21, 13-17 SEC) started the scoring with an RBI single by Kade Snell to score Ian Petrutz in the first inning. Auburn (27-26, 8-22 SEC) responded with an unearned run in the bottom of the frame. After Chris Stanfield reached first on an error and stole second, Ike Irish brought him home with an RBI single to tie the game 1-1 after one.

In the second inning, Alabama went down in order, and Auburn scored again on an RBI groundout by Stanfield. The Tigers stretched their lead to 4-1 with a two-run home run by Mason Maners in the fourth inning.

Game One: Alabama baseball falls to Auburn, 4-2, in the first game of final series of the season

Game Two: Alabama baseball battles back but drops wild game at Auburn to lose the Iron Bowl series

The Alabama offense looked flat against Auburn starter Christian Herberholz through four innings but finally got a hold of him in the fifth frame. A Will Hodo walk and Max Grant single gave the Tide runners on the corners, which Gage Miller turned into an RBI single. Petrutz laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Grant and Miller to scoring position, and a single by William Hamiter into right field gave Alabama two more runs to tie the game at 4-4.

Mac Guscette caught two Auburn runners stealing in the bottom of the fifth, and the Alabama offense stayed hot into the sixth, even after Auburn turned to Dylan Watts on the mound. Consecutive singles by T.J. McCants, Hodo and Grant loaded up the bases, and Watts was pulled for Ben Schorr. Miller welcomed Schorr to the game with a three-RBI double to reclaim the lead for Alabama. A hit-by-pitch, balk and intentional walk sequence reloaded the bases for Guscette, who got hit by a pitch to cross another run and give Alabama an 8-4 lead.

With two outs and the bases still loaded, Auburn turned to Conner McBride on the mound, marking the Tigers’ third pitching change in one Alabama trip through the lineup. McBride struck out McCants to strand the runners and end the Tide threat in the sixth, but the Tigers couldn’t respond after a double play and strikeout ended the inning quickly.

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Ben Hess put together another long, efficient outing on the mound for Alabama. He tied last week’s career and season-high with 6 ⅔ innings pitched and tossed a career-high 108 pitches. Hess allowed five runs (three earned runs) on 10 hits with nine strikeouts. Hess’ night ended in the bottom of the seventh after he allowed a two-out RBI single, and Alabama turned to Alton Davis II for the rest of the game.

Davis retired Auburn’s batters in order in the eighth, and Miller brought Hodo home with an RBI single for his fifth RBI of the game in the ninth. Petrutz blasted a three-run home run in the next at-bat to make it 12-5. The game then went into a lightning delay after one swing by Justin Lebron.

After a two-and-a-half-hour delay, the ninth inning resumed. Auburn’s Griffin Graves struck out three Alabama batters in a row. Looking to mount a seven-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth, Maners opened with a double and advanced to third after a groundout by Deric Fabian. Stanfield struck out swinging, and a groundout ended the game six hours and 15 minutes after it started.

With the victory, Alabama will head to Hoover as the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament.