† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupSelmaAlabamaUnited States
African American†79.8%24.6%9.9%
Nigerian1.4%—0.2%
Jamaican0.9%—0.4%
African0.4%0.6%0.5%
English5.0%12.1%9.5%
American3.6%12.8%5.3%
Irish1.4%8.0%9.4%
German1.2%6.4%12.5%
French0.3%1.1%1.6%
Scottish0.3%2.0%1.3%
Scotch-Irish0.3%1.2%—
Italian0.3%1.7%4.8%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Selma
Alabama
United States
Median age
38.5
39.4
39.1
Age 18–24
8.6%
9.4%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
18.8%
17.7%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Selma
Alabama
United States
Median household income
$33,197
$63,999
$84,427
Poverty rate
30.8%
15.6%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
19.9%
28.5%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Selma
Alabama
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
3.6%
6.1%
22.3%
Other languages
2.0%
0.2%
0.8%
Religious landscape
Measure
Selma
Alabama
United States
Catholic
—
5.0%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
42.2%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
36.6%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Selma, Alabama
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+36.7%
2008
+48.6%
2012
+59.2%
2016
+57.3%
2020
+59.4%
2024
+57.8%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
78.4%Harris5,321
20.6%Trump1,395
1.1%
D+57.8
R+1.6
D+59.3
6,788
D
79.2%Biden6,349
19.8%Trump1,590
0.9%
D+59.4
D+2.1
D+54.9
8,012
D
78.1%Clinton6,827
20.8%Trump1,821
1.1%
D+57.3
R+1.9
D+55.2
8,741
D
79.5%Obama6,769
20.3%Romney1,726
0.3%
D+59.2
D+10.6
D+55.4
8,517
D
73.9%Obama7,542
25.3%McCain2,579
0.8%
D+48.6
D+11.9
D+41.4
10,205
D
68.3%Kerry6,005
31.6%Bush2,776
0.1%
D+36.7
—
D+39.2
8,794
Selma's majority-Black electorate and legacy of 1965's Bloody Sunday give it outsized symbolic and analytical weight; local turnout swings have repeatedly signaled broader shifts in Alabama's Black voter mobilization patterns.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 59.4 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 1.6 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 57.8 points.
A population of 17,057, a 16% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $33,197 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Henderson and Clarksdale.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Selma, Alabama voted Democratic by 57.8 points (D+57.8), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 6,788 votes cast, 5,321 went Democratic and 1,395 went Republican.
How many people live in Selma, Alabama?
Selma, Alabama has a population of 17,057 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Selma, Alabama?
Median household income in Selma, Alabama is $33,197 — below the national median of $80,734. The Alabama state median is $63,999.
What is the political history of Selma, Alabama?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Selma, Alabama from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
