Brookside, Alabama — Trends and Changes
How has Brookside, Alabama changed since 2009?
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The population has grown about 63 percent, from 985 to 1,603 people; the median household income has risen from $41,845 to $59,271 (not adjusted for inflation); the typical home has gone from $80,600 to $107,400. Figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year releases, so each point is a rolling five-year estimate.
Each line starts at 100 in 2009; a line reaching 200 means that measure doubled. Exact values for each measure are in the charts and tables below. Source: ACS 5-year estimates.
| Measure | 2009 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 985 | 1,603 | +63% |
| Median household income | $41,845 | $59,271 | +42% |
| Median home value | $80,600 | $107,400 | +33% |
| Median rent | $415 | $1,098 | +165% |
| Median age | 38.0 yrs | 33.5 yrs | -4.5 yrs |
| Average commute | 26.2 min | 27.4 min | +1.2 min |
| College educated | 13.5% | 19.8% | +6.3 points |
| Working from home | 2.4% | 3.4% | +1.0 points |
| Poverty rate | 17.9% | 26.5% | +8.6 points |
| Unemployment | 12.2% | 3.9% | -8.3 points |
| Homeownership | 70.6% | 68.9% | -1.7 points |
| Rent as share of income | 24.6% | 45.5% | +20.9 points |
| Foreign-born residents | 0.2% | 0.4% | +0.2 points |
| Broadband at home | 64.1% | 89.2% | +25.1 points |
Dollar figures are not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
A typical household in Brookside earned $41,845 a year in 2009. By 2024 that figure had climbed to $59,271, a change of +42 percent before inflation.
| Year | Income | Alabama average |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $41,845 | $42,437 |
| 2010 | $41,848 | $43,720 |
| 2011 | $36,037 | $44,853 |
| 2012 | $39,256 | $45,080 |
| 2013 | $38,304 | $45,192 |
| 2014 | $35,000 | $45,396 |
| 2015 | $34,554 | $45,598 |
| 2016 | $30,833 | $46,825 |
| 2017 | $35,417 | $48,536 |
| 2018 | $36,848 | $50,367 |
| 2019 | $38,482 | $52,656 |
| 2020 | $55,000 | $54,336 |
| 2021 | $62,321 | $57,233 |
| 2022 | $55,568 | $62,334 |
| 2023 | $43,750 | $65,373 |
| 2024 | $59,271 | $67,652 |
The median home in Brookside was worth $80,600 in 2009. Since then values have risen, and by 2024 the typical home was worth $107,400.
| Year | Home Value | Alabama average |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $80,600 | $125,974 |
| 2010 | $86,300 | $132,655 |
| 2011 | $89,000 | $135,477 |
| 2012 | $85,200 | $136,788 |
| 2013 | $81,600 | $136,732 |
| 2014 | $81,700 | $138,035 |
| 2015 | $82,500 | $139,232 |
| 2016 | $81,100 | $141,274 |
| 2017 | $84,100 | $144,332 |
| 2018 | $85,200 | $148,418 |
| 2019 | $90,000 | $153,437 |
| 2020 | $91,100 | $160,202 |
| 2021 | $88,700 | $169,466 |
| 2022 | $106,900 | $197,546 |
| 2023 | $108,700 | $213,508 |
| 2024 | $107,400 | $231,263 |
Brookside counted 985 residents in 2009 and 1,603 in 2024.
| Year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 985 |
| 2010 | 1,140 |
| 2011 | 1,158 |
| 2012 | 1,194 |
| 2013 | 1,071 |
| 2014 | 1,112 |
| 2015 | 1,258 |
| 2016 | 1,202 |
| 2017 | 1,323 |
| 2018 | 1,538 |
| 2019 | 1,217 |
| 2020 | 1,120 |
| 2021 | 1,252 |
| 2022 | 1,157 |
| 2023 | 1,200 |
| 2024 | 1,603 |
Renters here paid a median of $415 a month in 2009 and $1,098 by 2024. Rents have grown noticeably faster than local incomes over that stretch.
| Year | Rent |
|---|---|
| 2009 | $415 |
| 2010 | $392 |
| 2011 | $455 |
| 2012 | $465 |
| 2013 | $434 |
| 2014 | $442 |
| 2015 | $575 |
| 2016 | $575 |
| 2017 | $556 |
| 2018 | $610 |
| 2019 | $651 |
| 2020 | $618 |
| 2021 | $781 |
| 2024 | $1,098 |
The share of adults holding a college degree went from 13.5% to 19.8%. Meanwhile remote work went from 2.4% of workers to 3.4%. Broadband reached 89.2% of households, from 64.1% in 2017.
| Year | College educated | Working from home | Broadband at home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 13.5% | 2.4% | |
| 2010 | 19.1% | 2.6% | |
| 2011 | 16.5% | 2.4% | |
| 2012 | 17.8% | 2.2% | |
| 2013 | 19.9% | 1.6% | |
| 2014 | 18% | ||
| 2015 | 17.3% | ||
| 2016 | 11.1% | ||
| 2017 | 11.5% | 64.1% | |
| 2018 | 13% | 0.4% | 74.2% |
| 2019 | 14.2% | 0.5% | 72% |
| 2020 | 17.9% | 0.7% | 80.6% |
| 2021 | 22.5% | 2.8% | 85.4% |
| 2022 | 21.6% | 4.7% | 83.6% |
| 2023 | 21.1% | 4% | 84.4% |
| 2024 | 19.8% | 3.4% | 89.2% |
Percent of adults with a college degree; percent of workers who work from home; percent of households with a broadband subscription (tracked since 2017).
The median resident of Brookside was 38.0 years old in 2009. The town has been getting younger since: the median age reached 33.5 by 2024.
| Year | Median age |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 38 |
| 2010 | 39.3 |
| 2011 | 37.8 |
| 2012 | 39.4 |
| 2013 | 45.3 |
| 2014 | 44 |
| 2015 | 45.9 |
| 2016 | 45.8 |
| 2017 | 37.3 |
| 2018 | 34 |
| 2019 | 40.1 |
| 2020 | 48.1 |
| 2021 | 45 |
| 2022 | 46.9 |
| 2023 | 45.6 |
| 2024 | 33.5 |
Getting to work took an average of 26.2 minutes in 2009; it now takes about 27.4 minutes.
| Year | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 26.2 |
| 2010 | 25.1 |
| 2011 | 25 |
| 2012 | 25.4 |
| 2013 | 25.5 |
| 2014 | 23.4 |
| 2015 | 23.2 |
| 2016 | 25.3 |
| 2017 | 24.5 |
| 2018 | 24.9 |
| 2019 | 27 |
| 2020 | 29.8 |
| 2021 | 27.7 |
| 2022 | 27.5 |
| 2023 | 27.6 |
| 2024 | 27.4 |
About 26.5% of residents live below the poverty line, up from 17.9% in 2009. Unemployment stands at 3.9%.
| Year | Poverty rate | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 17.9% | |
| 2010 | 14.5% | |
| 2011 | 17.3% | 12.2% |
| 2012 | 14.9% | 12.7% |
| 2013 | 15.6% | 12% |
| 2014 | 20.6% | 15.8% |
| 2015 | 19.2% | 14.5% |
| 2016 | 25.5% | 13.6% |
| 2017 | 25.9% | 14.8% |
| 2018 | 22.5% | 13.7% |
| 2019 | 18.5% | 13.6% |
| 2020 | 14.2% | 8.9% |
| 2021 | 7.2% | 10.7% |
| 2022 | 20.7% | 6.5% |
| 2023 | 28% | 5.2% |
| 2024 | 26.5% | 3.9% |
The Gini index measures income inequality: 0 would mean every household earns the same, 1 would mean a single household earns everything. Brookside scores 0.44, essentially unchanged over the period.
| Year | Gini index |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.4 |
| 2011 | 0.4 |
| 2012 | 0.4 |
| 2013 | 0.4 |
| 2014 | 0.4 |
| 2015 | 0.4 |
| 2016 | 0.4 |
| 2017 | 0.4 |
| 2018 | 0.4 |
| 2019 | 0.4 |
| 2020 | 0.4 |
| 2021 | 0.3 |
| 2022 | 0.4 |
| 2023 | 0.5 |
| 2024 | 0.4 |
68.9% of occupied homes are owned by the people living in them, down from 70.6% in 2009. The typical renter puts 45.5% of household income toward rent, above the 30% threshold that housing economists consider burdensome. About 2.2% of housing units sit vacant.
| Year | Homeownership | Rent as share of income | Vacant units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 70.6% | 24.6% | 14.7% |
| 2010 | 72.4% | 27.5% | 8.9% |
| 2011 | 67.5% | 32.8% | 6.8% |
| 2012 | 73.1% | 35% | 13% |
| 2013 | 72.6% | 36.3% | 16% |
| 2014 | 67.5% | 23.5% | 17.7% |
| 2015 | 64.3% | 24.7% | 16.1% |
| 2016 | 61.4% | 25% | 15.7% |
| 2017 | 60.5% | 24.1% | 12.6% |
| 2018 | 60.7% | 23.8% | 15.4% |
| 2019 | 66.9% | 31.3% | 18.7% |
| 2020 | 66.9% | 28.2% | 18.7% |
| 2021 | 68.5% | 25.2% | 18% |
| 2022 | 64% | 36% | 10.4% |
| 2023 | 65.8% | 37.8% | 5.3% |
| 2024 | 68.9% | 45.5% | 2.2% |
0.4% of residents were born outside the United States, compared with 0.2% in 2016. Residents identifying as something other than non-Hispanic white make up 43.8% of the town, up from 19.4% at the start of the period.
| Year | Foreign-born | Nonwhite or Hispanic |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 19.4% | |
| 2010 | 17.4% | |
| 2011 | 21.1% | |
| 2012 | 16.6% | |
| 2013 | 17% | |
| 2014 | 21.8% | |
| 2015 | 18.9% | |
| 2016 | 0.2% | 23.6% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | 27.1% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | 28.3% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | 25.1% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | 34.8% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | 34.1% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | 36.6% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | 42.3% |
| 2024 | 0.4% | 43.8% |