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Mobile, Alabama skylinePhoto: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
Town Hall · Mobile

Mobile spent more per resident in 2022 than 79% of similar cities

Mobile’s city government spent $303.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, about $1,656 per resident. Water and other utilities ($40.4 million) are counted separately.

Town website
Election Day

Tomorrow

General election in Alabama.

Register or check: vote.gov ↗
Day-to-day spending, 2024
$303.5M
year to September 30, 2024
Per resident, 2024
$1,656
In 2022: $1,404, more than 79% of 200 similar cities
Long-term debt
$366.6M
end of FY2024, reported
City staff, 2025
2,502
full-time · 249 part-time · March payroll $14.0M
Typical tax bill
$968
0.50% of home value · AL 0.38%

What stands out about how Mobile is run

Read from the city’s budget, meetings and official records.

Agendas posted online6 upcoming meetings posted, with agendas.Spends more than most similar citiesIn 2022: $1,404 per resident, more than 79% of 200 similar cities.Runs its own water & sewer28% of day-to-day spending goes to water, sewer and trash (2024).A shared school districtShares Mobile County School District with 6+ other towns.
★ What stands out · Meetings

6 upcoming meetings at town hall

From Mobile’s own agenda portal, checked daily. Agendas can change up to the meeting, so check before you go.

Recent meetings

Go in person

Most meetings are open to the public, and many have a public comment period at the start.

Agenda portal ↗
Your share of the 2024 budget

About $1,656 per resident a year, or $4.54 a day

Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 21%.

Where the money comes from
Sales taxes 52%Fees & charges 19%Utility sales 8%Other taxes & licenses 8%Property taxes 4%From the state 4%Interest, fines & other 4%From the federal government 1%From other local governments <1%
Not in the receipt.Building projects $96.9 million; interest on debt $12.4 million; payments to other governments $18.8 million. With these and the enterprises, the whole budget was $472.7 million.
Compared with similar places

$1,404 per resident in 2022: more than 79% of them

Mobile’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,404 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 200 Alabama cities that don’t run their own schools: the median was $700, and the middle half spent $308–$1,281. Mobile spent more than 79% of them.

Middle half of the group, $308–$1,281Median $700Mobile

Includes sewer and trash ($48.8 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →

The group
200

Alabama cities that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Mobile itself left out).

Over the years

Day-to-day spending is up 15% since 2022

Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Mobile reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.

Day-to-day spending by fiscal year

2022$263.7 million
2023$288.9 million
2024$303.5 million

Per resident: 2022: $1,404 · 2023: $1,562 · 2024: $1,656.

City staff
2,502

full-time in March 2025, up from 2,314 in 2022.

Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.

Property tax

The typical homeowner pays $968 a year

Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.50% of the home’s value, vs 0.38% across Alabama.

What homes cost →

Typical yearly bill next door and statewide

Saraland$986
Mobile$968
Satsuma$952
Spanish Fort$945
Semmes$845
Alabama$788
Tillmans Corner$762
Theodore$688
Prichard$482
Chickasaw$367
$968
typical bill a year
0.50%
effective rate
$193,300
typical home value (Census)
Your own bill

The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Mobile’s rate.

Can I afford it? →

The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.

Tax bills are one input to Mobile’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Mobile →

Who runs it

Who’s in charge in Mobile

Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.

See cityofmobile.org for Mobile’s current officialsWe name an official only when a public source lists a current term. None does for Mobile yet.cityofmobile.org ↗
Who works for Mobile

One full-time city employee for every 73 residents

On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (183,289).

By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025

Police616 + 60 pt
Fire511 + 2 pt
Parks & libraries296 + 140 pt
Roads & transportation199 + 3 pt
Administration & buildings182 + 14 pt
Sewer & trash177 + 8 pt
Courts, inspections & corrections65 + 7 pt
Water & other utilities35 + 1 pt
Health & welfare26 + 7 pt
Housing & development20
Other375 + 7 pt
2,502
full-time
249
part-time
$14.0M
payroll for March 2025
$168.0M
a year, estimated (March × 12)
$65,300
average full-time pay, before benefits (March × 12)
474
sworn police officers
481
full-time firefighters
Compared, 2022.Mobile had 12.3 full-time staff per 1,000 residents in March 2022. The median for the 153 of the 200 Alabama cities that don’t run their own schools that reported 2022 staff was 9.0: Mobile had more than 68% of them. Same group and year as the budget comparison.

The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.

The school district

Mobile County School District

Mobile’s K–12 school district, shared with Bayou La Batre, Citronelle, Creola, Dauphin Island, Mount Vernon and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.

Schools in Mobile →
$14,984
per pupil · AL $13,926
50,929
students
$329.1 million
long-term debt

Of the $14,984 per pupil, $7,369 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.

The district: schools, scores and graduation →

Where the district’s money comes from
Local 25%State 47%Federal 28%

Alabama districts overall: 31% local, 53% state, 16% federal.

School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.

Elections · 2024 general election

Mobile’s votes are counted by county

Alabama reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Mobile alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Mobile County’s results.

President · Mobile County’s results175,164 votes · results as certified
Donald J TrumpDonald J TrumpRepublican57.5%100,759 votes
Kamala D HarrisKamala D HarrisDemocrat41.1%72,055 votes

Others: 1.3% (2,350 votes).

Most votes in Mobile County: Donald J Trump

Alabama: Trump 64.6%, Harris 34.1%

The county’s page

100% of Mobile lies in Mobile County. Every 2024 race in Mobile County is on the county’s page.

Mobile County’s 2024 results →
DemocratRepublicanLibertarianIndependent / other

Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.

Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.

Who represents Mobile

From town hall to Washington

Mobile sends 8 representatives to the Alabama House alone.

2024 results ↑
  1. 1
    Your cityMayor & council
    Officials: cityofmobile.org ↗
  2. 2
    Alabama HouseMobile is split between 8 districts
    Adline ClarkeBarbara DrummondSam JonesChris PringleMargie WilcoxChip BrownNapoleon BracyMark Shirey
  3. 3
    Alabama SenateState senator
    Vivian FiguresDavid SessionsJack WilliamsGreg Albritton
  4. 4
    GovernorStatewide
    Kay Ivey
  5. 5
    U.S. HouseSplit between districts
    Shomari FiguresBarry Moore
  6. 6
    U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Alabama
    Tommy TubervilleKatie Boyd Britt
Find your state legislators by address ↗Find your House district by ZIP code ↗

Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.

Next door

How Mobile compares with the towns next door

No neighbor is close in size, so the comparison above uses Alabama cities that don’t run their own schools. Tap a town to see its page.

Tillmans Corner: unincorporated, no town budgetPrichard: no reported 2022 figuresChickasaw: $1,008 per resident (2022)Theodore: unincorporated, no town budgetSaraland: no reported 2022 figuresSemmes: $911 per resident (2022)Spanish Fort: $812 per resident (2022)Satsuma: $746 per resident (2022)Tillmans CornerPrichardChickasawTheodoreSaralandSemmesSpanish FortSatsumaMobile
Spends the leastSpends the mostEstimate or no figures
TownDay-to-day, per resident (2022)Tax bill
Satsuma$746$952
Spanish Fort$812$945
Semmes$911$845
Chickasaw$1,008$367
Prichardestimate$482
Saralandestimate$986
Mobile$1,404$968

Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).

Reach Mobile’s government

The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.

The Handbook →
Official websitecityofmobile.org ↗

Questions about Mobile’s government

How much does Mobile spend per resident?

About $1,656 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,404 was more than 79% of 200 Alabama cities that don’t run their own schools.

What is the property tax rate in Mobile?

Homeowners report a typical bill of $968 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.50% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.38% across Alabama. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofmobile.org.

Who runs Mobile’s government?

See cityofmobile.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Mobile yet.

How did Mobile vote in 2024?

Alabama counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Mobile alone. Mobile County, where 100% of Mobile lies, voted Trump 57.5%, Harris 41.1% for president; its page has every race.

How many people work for Mobile?

2,502 full-time and 249 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $14.0M (about $168.0M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.

Who represents Mobile in the state legislature?

Mobile is split among 8 State House districts and 4 State Senate districts, so your address decides. The Alabama Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.

When is the next public meeting in Mobile?

The next posted meeting is City Council on Tuesday, November 3, at 10:30 am in Auditorium, from the city’s own agenda portal.

Ask neighbors about Mobile’s government

Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors

Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →