Alabama Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown
Alabama has 535,398 business records in Factur’s directory — the 27th-most of any U.S. state, or 0.8% of the national total. Birmingham leads its cities with 14.5% of the state’s records, Industrial & mechanical is the largest sector at 27.6%, and Alabama ranks 27th for large employers (500+ employees).
Data as of July 2026. The figures come from Factur’s U.S. business directory, spanning 11 Alabama cities and 9 industry sectors. They count records, not unique companies: one company can have more than one record (see the methodology). Every number links to the browsable list behind it. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite these figures with a link back to this page.
Key findings
- Alabama ranks 27th nationally with 535,398 business records — 0.8% of all 64,799,929 U.S. records in the directory.
- A national-average share of large employers. Alabama is 27th for records of companies with 500+ employees (921), with 17.2 per 10,000 records against 14.0 nationally (12th of 52 states).
- Alabama has more food & beverage than the U.S. mix:Food & Beverage is 2.2% of the state’s records against 1.4% nationally (1.5×).
- Birmingham is the state’s largest business hub, with 14.5% of all Alabama records.
- Business is concentrated in a few metros: Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville together hold 26.4% of the state’s records.
How Alabama ranks nationally
Alabama and its closest neighbours by total business records. Select a state to open its own study.
Top Alabama cities by number of business records
These 10 cities account for 42.2% of all records in Alabama. Select any city to browse its full company list.
Alabama businesses by industry
Every record is classified by its primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes; the shares are of all Alabama records. Select a sector to see those Alabama companies.
What sets Alabama apart
Sectors that make up a bigger share of Alabama’s records than of the U.S. as a whole. A ratio of 2.0× means the sector is twice as common here as nationally. Select a sector to browse it.
Alabama businesses by size
Most records in every state are small businesses. In Alabama, 1.63% of records with a known size have 51 or more employees, against 1.77% nationally. 254 records belong to companies with $1 billion or more in revenue.
| Employees | Records | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-50 | 520,121 | 98.37% | 98.23% |
| 51-200 | 6,102 | 1.15% | 1.37% |
| 201-1000 | 2,130 | 0.40% | 0.33% |
| 1001-5000 | 282 | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| 5001+ | 131 | 0.02% | 0.02% |
What the numbers show
Alabama’s 535,398 records place it 27th nationally, 0.8% of the U.S. total, and 27th for large employers. Activity clusters in its largest metros — Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville alone account for 26.4% of the state’s records — and the state leans toward food & beverage compared with the rest of the country. For buyers and sellers, that means the deepest pools of suppliers sit in a handful of cities and sectors; the charts above link straight into each so you can shortlist by capability and region.
Frequently asked questions
How many businesses are in Alabama?
Factur’s directory has 535,398 business records for Alabama, the 27th-most of any U.S. state. That counts records rather than unique companies: a company can have more than one record, so the number of distinct businesses is lower.
How many large companies are in Alabama?
921 Alabama records belong to companies with 500 or more employees, 27th among U.S. states, or 17.2 per 10,000 records against 14.0 nationally. Large companies often have several records (one per department or location), so this overstates the number of distinct large employers.
Which Alabama city has the most businesses?
Birmingham has the most, with 14.5% of the state’s records.
What is the largest industry in Alabama?
Industrial & mechanical is the largest sector, at 27.6% of Alabama records. Compared with the U.S. mix, Alabama has proportionally more food & beverage.
Where does this data come from?
From Factur’s U.S. business directory as of July 2026, classified by city and by primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. Every figure on this page links to the list behind it.
Cite this data
Free to use with attribution — please credit Factur and link back to this page.
Factur. (2026). Alabama Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown. data.facturmfg.com. https://data.facturmfg.com/insights/alabama<a href="https://data.facturmfg.com/insights/alabama">Alabama Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown</a> — data by FacturMethodology
Figures count records in Factur’s U.S. business directory as of July 2026, classified by city and primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. Records cover manufacturers, suppliers and businesses of all sizes. They are not a count of unique companies: one company can have several records (for example one per department or location), and some records are duplicates. That affects large companies most, so treat raw totals as an upper bound and rely on the ranks, shares and comparisons, which it affects much less. These are directory totals, not official census figures. Percentages are computed against the Alabama directory total; size shares use records with a known employee count. Data compiled by Factur, a sales and marketing firm for B2B manufacturers.
Looking for a specific industry in Alabama? Browse the Alabama directory → or contact us for a custom data pull.