Alabaster, Alabama

Alabaster, Alabama
City
Alabaster in 2012
Location in Shelby County and the state of Alabama
Alabaster, Alabama Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Shelby
Government
• Mayor-Council government	Marty Handlon
Area
• Total	20.6 sq mi (53.1 km2)
• Land	20.5 sq mi (53 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	502 ft (153 m)
Population (2013)
• Total	31,342
• Density	1,098/sq mi (426/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	35007, 35114
Area code(s)	205
FIPS code	01-00820
Website	http://www.cityofalabaster.com

Alabaster is a city and southern suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 30,352. According to the 2013 Census Estimates, the city had a population of 31,342. Alabaster is the 16th largest city in Alabama (by number of residents) and still a growing population.

Geography

Alabaster is located at (33.231162, −86.823829).

Alabaster mostly occupies Cahaba and Opossum valleys, which are divided by the Pine ridge that runs north to south. To the east and west, both valleys are flanked by parallel mountain ridges that locally run north to south, but are a part of a larger system of ridges that generally runs north-east to south-west (the tailing ends of the Appalachian foothills). The valleys are drained by small creeks (Buck creek, Beaverdam creek) that flow into the Cahaba river.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.6 square miles (53 km²), of which, 20.5 square miles (53 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (0.24%) is water.

History

George L. Scott, Sr., an Alabaster pioneer, owned and operated Alabaster Lime Co. His shipping point, named for him, was known as “Scott Rock”. Later, housing was built to accommodate some of the employees, and the community acquired its name Alabaster from the "white calcium carbonate mineral". The First Bank of Alabaster opened in 1952, and its president was George L. Scott, Jr., who later became the first mayor of Alabaster. The first attempt in 1952 to incorporate Alabaster failed. In January 1953, the petition was again filed, and on February 23, 1953, Alabaster was officially incorporated with a favorable vote of 79 to 23, and 427 residing inhabitants. Other Alabaster pioneers were Kenton B. Nickerson and William J. Maxwell. In 1955, the Alabaster Water and Gas Board was formed.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1960	1,623		—
1970	2,642		62.8%
1980	7,079		167.9%
1990	14,732		108.1%
2000	22,619		53.5%
2010	30,352		34.2%
Est. 2014	31,545		3.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 2013 Estimate

2010 Census data

As of the census of 2010, there were 30,352 people, 11,016 households, and 6,482 families residing in the city [9].The population density was 1,104.8 people per square mile (426.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.2% White,15.0% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.2% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 4.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,016 households out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $64,411, and the median income for a family was $78,940. The per capita income for the city was $22,466. About 4.3% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The government consists of mayor who is elected at large and a seven-member city council. One member is elected from each of the seven wards.

The Mayor and City Council are elected every four years.

The most recent election was held August 2012, with a runoff for Mayor held in October 2012.

Schools

On July 1, 2013, the Alabaster City Schools System officially separated from the Shelby County Schools system, and will operate the public schools in the city. Private school K-12 education is also available.

• Creek View Elementary School
• Meadow View Elementary School
• Thompson Intermediate School
• Thompson Sixth Grade Center
• Thompson Middle School
• Thompson High School
• Kingwood Christian School
• Evangel Christian School

Gallery

• 

  Alabaster City Hall

• 

  Buck Creek

External links

• City of Alabaster
• money.cnn