Selma is home to 17,057 people in Alabama. The poverty rate is 30.8%, above the 12.5% national rate. Owners hold 46% of the housing stock. That trails the Alabama median by roughly 48%. 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, below the 36% national rate. Home values have risen by half since 2000, reaching $96,500.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $33,197, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Mid-age
median age 38.5
US median: 38.9
Less educated
20% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
More affordable
home values down 14%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Selma
What changed most since 1990
Black share58.5% → 82.5%(+24.0 pts)US over the same years: +0.2 pts
Population23,755 → 17,057(−28%)US over the same years: +35%
Adults with a bachelor's degree15.6% → 19.9%(+4.3 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
Its weight in Dallas County
Selma's population equals 46% of Dallas County's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 84% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)16.7%(128)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)22.7%(174)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era43.3%(331)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War2.4%(18)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 765 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Selma, decade by decade
Selma population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
23,755
$38,202
$106,803
15.6%
61.2
2000
20,512
$38,730
$112,578
18.4%
54.5
2010
20,756
$31,447
$111,058
19.3%
41.0
2020
17,971
$32,217
$109,690
20.2%
38.1
2024
17,057
$33,197
$96,500
19.9%
37.1
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
