Alabama covers 50,744 square miles, with a 2019 estimated population of 4,903,185 people - 1,135,428 of whom live in rural areas (USDA-ERS). The state capital is Montgomery and the largest cities are Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile. According to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 69.1% of the state's population is white, 26.8% is African-American, 1.5% is Asian, 0.7% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% is Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 4.6% is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Alabama Rural Healthcare Facilities

According to data.HRSA.gov, as of January 2021 Alabama had:

• 5 Critical Access Hospitals
• 132 Rural Health Clinics
• 110 Federally Qualified Health Center sites located outside of Urbanized Areas
• 49 short term hospitals located outside of Urbanized Areas

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Alabama

9.7% of Alabama residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2019). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for Alabama residents in 2019 was $44,145, with the rural capita income at $37,095. The ERS reports, based on 2019 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Alabama is 18.5%, compared with 14.8% in urban areas of the state. 18.8% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 12.3% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2015-2019 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Alabama is 3.3%, while in urban Alabama it is 2.9% (USDA-ERS, 2019).

Alabama Office of Primary Care and Rural Health
Phone: 334.206.5396
Facilitates and supports activities which improve access to health care services for rural Alabamians, with special concern for children, the elderly, minorities and other medically underserved vulnerable populations. Part of the Alabama Department of Public Health.
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