| Birmingham is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Jefferson County. It also includes part of Shelby County. The population of the city is 242,820 as of the 2000 census, and 229,424 according to the 2006 estimate. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, as of the 2006 census estimates, has a population of 1,100,019. It is also the largest city in the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area, colloquially known as Greater Birmingham, which contains roughly one quarter of the population of Alabama. |