664,744 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.5% since 2020)
1,112 square miles of land · 598 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
12 active community water systems list Jefferson County in the area they serve, reporting 867,480 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CENTRAL ALABAMA WATER surface water · local government · AL0000738 | 653,322 served |
| BESSEMER WATER SERVICE buys surface water · local government · AL0000737 | 86,091 served |
| WARRIOR RIVER WATER AUTHORITY surface water · local government · AL0000763 | 38,700 served |
| TRUSSVILLE, UB OF THE CITY OF groundwater · local government · AL0000761 | 36,300 served |
| LEEDS WATER WORKS BOARD groundwater · local government · AL0000753 | 21,300 served |
| IRONDALE WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · AL0000751 | 10,098 served |
| GRAYSVILLE WATER BOARD buys surface water · local government · AL0000748 | 9,288 served |
| MULGA WATER DEPARTMENT buys surface water · local government · AL0000755 | 5,991 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 923 people were held in Jefferson County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 218 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 1,546.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
12 school districts have their office in Jefferson County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $491.9 million — $438.4 million to run schools, about $12,195 per student, plus $41.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $158 million local (mostly property tax), $282.4 million state, $88.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $193.9 million.
Spent $388.9 million — $343.1 million to run schools, about $16,239 per student, plus $28.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $134 million local (mostly property tax), $156.2 million state, $114.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.5 million.
Spent $210.8 million — $193.5 million to run schools, about $14,274 per student, plus $9.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $125.6 million local (mostly property tax), $92.8 million state, $11.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $145.3 million.
Spent $110.7 million — $104.7 million to run schools, about $14,810 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $64.2 million local (mostly property tax), $50.8 million state, $3.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $80.4 million.
Spent $72.2 million — $62.8 million to run schools, about $12,396 per student, plus $6.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $33.5 million local (mostly property tax), $38.9 million state, $3.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $38.9 million.
Spent $104.8 million — $78.6 million to run schools, about $17,829 per student, plus $22 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $65.4 million local (mostly property tax), $32 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $70.9 million.
Spent $74.9 million — $65.1 million to run schools, about $14,903 per student, plus $8.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $47 million local (mostly property tax), $28.5 million state, $4.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $21.2 million.
Spent $56 million — $50.1 million to run schools, about $15,438 per student, plus $3.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $15 million local (mostly property tax), $26 million state, $15 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.4 million.
And 4 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Jefferson County about $262.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
1,069 bridges in Jefferson County: 209 in good condition, 836 fair, and 24 poor (2.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| I - 20/59 WEST over ARRON ARONOV DRIVE · built 1968 | 41,990 vehicles a day |
| I - 20/59 EAST over AARON ARONOV DRIVE · built 1968 | 41,990 vehicles a day |
| AL - 5 (US 11) over OPOSSUM CREEK · built 1955 | 19,500 vehicles a day |
| 22ND STREET over MORRIS AVE * RR · built 1915 | 14,000 vehicles a day |
| 22ND ST over Rotary Trail Park · built 1910 | 13,000 vehicles a day |
| 21ST STREET over MORRIS AVE * RR · built 1915 | 13,000 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $707.4 million of work in Jefferson County in fiscal 2025, about $1,048 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Alabama are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Jefferson County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Jefferson County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Alabama: the state government and every county in Alabama.
Nearby counties: Shelby County (24 mi) · Walker County (28 mi) · Blount County (35 mi) · St. Clair County (36 mi) · Bibb County (39 mi) · Cullman County (40 mi).