4 big takeaways from downtown Birmingham mid-year report

REV Birmingham released its mid-year economic report at a reception hosted at the Sirote Denton on Thursday evening, August 20th.

The new data-driven economic report about downtown Birmingham covers Q1 and Q2 2026 and examines employment, residential growth and retail trends. 

This is the seventh installment of the bi-annual Downtown Birmingham Economic Vitality Report by REV Birmingham. The study defines downtown as:

• UAB
• Five Points South
• Southtown
• Mid-town
• Parkside
• Civil Rights District
• Central Business District
• Uptown
• Lakeview
• The BJCC

4 key takeaways from the 2026 mid-year report 

At the reception, REV Birmingham’s President & CEO David Fleming provided four key takeaways from the Q1-Q2 2026 report.  Here’s what jumped out at us.

1. Downtown Birmingham is major driver of Birmingham’s economy

The four downtown Birmingham neighborhoods—Central City, Fountain Heights, Five Points South and Southside—account for a huge share of The Magic City’s economic activity. These neighborhoods contain:

• 35% of Birmingham’s employees
• 32% of the business licenses
• 40% of its restaurants

2. More people are coming downtown

More people are visiting downtown across the board, whether it is from nearby residents, local employees or tourists. Here is the difference between the first half of 2026 compared to 2025:

• 125,164 visits per day in Q1-Q2 2026
• 120,759 visits per day in Q1-Q2 2025

3. Downtown office space is competitive 

Rev Birmingham’s President & CEO David Fleming said office space, especially for major employers seeking spaces 20,000 square feet or more, is affordable and competitive. 

4. Downtown residential occupancy is up

The downtown residential occupancy rose from 79% in the second half of 2025 to 84% in the first half of 2026. This is particularly impressive since 548 residential units (The James/Fitzroy) were added in 2025.

Other interesting findings

If you are a numbers person, the Q1-Q2 2026 study is filled with interesting findings. Here are a few we found interesting:

• $73,404 – Median income of downtown employees
• $67,333 – Median income for downtown visitors 
• 14,700 – Number of downtown residents
• 55% Female – 45% Male – downtown population
• 88%  – Residents have a high school degree
• 58% Bachelor degree or higher
• 759K – Visits to The BJCC

Report contributors

The following organizations contributed data and industry context to the report: 

• CBRE
• City of Birmingham
• CModel
• Colliers International
• Daniel Corporation
• Dobbins Group
• EGS/Cushman Wakefield
• Graham & Co.
• Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitor Bureau
• Harbert Realty
• JH Berry & Gilbert, Inc.
• Retail Strategies
• Shannon Walchack
• Tess Commercial Real Estate

Want to read the entire report? Visit REV Birmingham’s BHM Downtown website to download the entire report.