Housing in Southwest at a glance
- Population
- about 16,642
- Housing units
- about 8,596
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $266,000Birmingham: $158,800 (+67%)
- Median gross rent
- $1,350 a monthBirmingham: $1,107 (+22%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 53%Birmingham: 45.5%
- Homes built before 1980
- 43.1%
- Median year built
- 2000
Southwest has the youngest housing in the Birmingham ranking. Only 43.1% of homes predate 1980, the lowest share, and the median home dates from 2000, whereas West End shows 1956 and Five Points West 1954. Newer stock comes with higher prices: renters pay $1,350, the top rent in the city and 22% above $1,107, and owners estimate $266,000, 67% above the $158,800 benchmark. West End, close by, stands at $78,000 on value and Five Points West at $97,000. Owners hold 53% of households, 3,852 against 3,415 renters. The sector lies south-west of the centre, and Southside's 1976 midpoint year, while older than Southwest's, is still the nearest to it. Its rent and ownership both rank fourth or better, and Five Points West, with owners at 63%, is the only neighbour with a clearly higher owner share. Southwest therefore combines young housing, the top rent and fairly strong ownership, a mix that none of the nearby sectors repeats.
Questions about Southwest
What is the median home value in Southwest, Birmingham?
$266,000 for owner-occupied homes, against $158,800 for Birmingham as a whole (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary). It is the owners' own estimate of their home's value, not a sale price.
What is the median rent in Southwest?
$1,350 a month in gross rent (rent plus utilities paid by the renter), against $1,107 in Birmingham (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Do most people in Southwest own or rent?
Most own: 53% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 45.5% in Birmingham (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Data and method
Data as of: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (retrieved 2026-11-02).
Estimate from the 5 census tracts whose internal point lies within the official boundary: counts are summed, and each median is recomputed from the summed value, rent and year-built brackets (grouped median, linear interpolation). The gap with the city is measured with the same method on the whole city.
Southwest is one of the 10 most populous of 23 communities of Birmingham: estimated population about 16,642 (Payotte estimate: Census ACS 2020-2024 populations of the census tracts whose internal point lies inside the boundary; boundaries from City of Birmingham GIS, Communities (Birmingham_VertiGIS_Primary_Layers, layer 26), consulted 2026-11-02).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B01003, B25001, B25003, B25034, B25063, B25064, B25075, B25077; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (census tract internal points). City figures: the same survey, published for Birmingham as a whole. Home values are owners' estimates, not sale prices.
Near Southwest
The closest sectors of Birmingham, by distance between population centres.
Other sectors of Birmingham
Five trades, one spot each
Payotte lists one professional per trade in Southwest. No one is listed yet: every spot is open.
- Real estate agentOpen spot
- Mortgage loan officerOpen spot
- Home inspectorOpen spot
- Real estate attorneyOpen spot
- AppraiserOpen spot
Work in one of these trades in Southwest? Ask for your spot.