Bessemer, Alabama demographics

Bessemer, AL demographics: median age 43.3; 15.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Bessemer city, Alabama · Incorporated city · GEOID 0105980. The survey estimates a population of 25,400 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Bessemer is 43.3 years, with a 90% margin of error of 4.5 years. There are 10,925 households (±613). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	43.3 ±4.5	39.3 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,400
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Under 18	5,076 ±713	20.0% ±2.8 pp	22.2%	22.0%
18–34	5,243 ±641	20.6% ±2.5 pp	22.4%	22.8%
35–64	9,480 ±878	37.3% ±3.5 pp	37.6%	38.0%
65 and older	5,601 ±643	22.1% ±2.5 pp	17.8%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,400
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Male	11,825 ±605	46.6% ±2.4 pp	48.6%	49.5%
Female	13,575 ±604	53.4% ±2.4 pp	51.4%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,400
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
White alone	5,477 ±966	21.6% ±3.8 pp	64.6%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	16,925 ±1,054	66.6% ±4.1 pp	25.8%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	123 ±94 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.9%
Asian alone	20 ±24 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,733 ±605	6.8% ±2.4 pp	2.3%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,122 ±465	4.4% ±1.8 pp	5.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,400
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	22,760 ±766	89.6% ±3.0 pp	94.4%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	2,640 ±763	10.4% ±3.0 pp	5.6%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,925
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,575 ±480	23.6% ±4.2 pp	46.1%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	613 ±229	5.6% ±2.1 pp	4.4%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,672 ±394	24.5% ±3.3 pp	14.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	4,445 ±672	40.7% ±5.7 pp	30.8%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	620 ±218	5.7% ±2.0 pp	4.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,925
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,343 ±299	21.4% ±2.5 pp	29.0%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,582 ±738	78.6% ±5.1 pp	71.0%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,925
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	4,445 ±672	40.7% ±5.7 pp	30.8%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,637 ±537	33.3% ±4.5 pp	34.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,514 ±307	13.9% ±2.7 pp	15.4%	15.3%
Four-person households	611 ±176	5.6% ±1.6 pp	11.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	322 ±111	2.9% ±1.0 pp	5.1%	5.9%
Six-person households	236 ±130 · low precision	2.2% ±1.2 pp · low precision	1.7%	2.2%
Seven or more people	160 ±103 · low precision	1.5% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,400
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Native	24,378 ±469	96.0% ±1.8 pp	96.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	1,022 ±466	4.0% ±1.8 pp	4.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 23,908
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
English only	21,551 ±783	90.1% ±2.9 pp	94.0%	77.7%
Spanish	2,235 ±647	9.3% ±2.7 pp	3.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	88 ±129 · low precision	0.4% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	19 ±33 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	15 ±24 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 18,178
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	2,524 ±406	13.9% ±2.1 pp	11.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,007 ±740	38.5% ±3.7 pp	30.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	4,199 ±589	23.1% ±3.1 pp	20.8%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,613 ±411	8.9% ±2.2 pp	9.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	1,862 ±374	10.2% ±2.0 pp	17.3%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	973 ±267	5.4% ±1.4 pp	11.1%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 25,144
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Alabama	U.S.
Same house	21,603 ±833	85.9% ±3.2 pp	88.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,316 ±686	9.2% ±2.7 pp	6.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	325 ±143	1.3% ±0.6 pp	2.9%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	480 ±336 · low precision	1.9% ±1.3 pp · low precision	2.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	420 ±459 · low precision	1.7% ±1.8 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

14.0% of Bessemer residents (±2.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.2% in Alabama and 8.4% nationally. 83.8% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Bessemer	Alabama	U.S.	Compared with Alabama
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	14.0% ±2.7 pp	9.2%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	83.8% ±2.4 pp	87.5%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.5% ±1.9 pp	7.7%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Bessemer . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Bessemer housing and cost context or return to the city profile.