Mountain Brook
City of Mountain Brook | |
Incorporated | 1942 |
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Population | 21,737 |
Mayor | Stewart Welch |
School district | Mountain Brook Schools |
Government |
Mountain Brook City Council |
Web site | mtnbrook.org |
Locate with Google Maps |
Mountain Brook (incorporated in 1942) is a city of 21,737 on 12.8 square miles in southern Jefferson County, south of Red Mountain. Mountain Brook is a particularly affluent suburb of Birmingham, and has ranked as one of the wealthiest cities in the United States.
Mountain Brook was originally developed in 1929 by Robert Jemison Jr as an extensive residential subdivision anchored by the newly-relocated Birmingham Country Club and the newly-developed Mountain Brook Club. The land development plans, by Boston-based landscape architect Warren H. Manning, called for estate-sized lots along winding scenic roads and denser commercial development centering on three "villages", called "English Village", "Mountain Brook Village" and "Crestline Village". Nature preserves on the adjacent slopes protected the area from urban encroachment and bridle paths created a recreational network within the development.
In the late 1930s a group which was led by Charles Zukoski sought to improve public safety and other services in the then-unincorporated Mountain Brook Estates and surrounding neighborhoods. The group studied the advantages of seeking annexation into Birmingham, or incorporating as a separate municipality. The recommended the latter, which went to a vote on March 24, 1942. The result was 263-67 in favor of incorporation, and Zukoski was elected mayor two months later, eventually serving four terms before stepping down in 1956.
Mountain Brook is home to one of the nation's first suburban office parks, "Office Park", developed in 1955. The city was extended eastward with the development of the Cherokee Bend subdivision in the 1960s.
Government
Mountain Brook has a city council/mayor/city manager system of government. The city council consists of 5 members elected at large, and the council considers most issues and appoints the police chief, the fire chief, and the city manager (with the mayor). The mayor is elected every 4 years. Administrative business is handled by the city manager who is appointed by the mayor and city council. The current city manager is Sam Gaston.
The Mountain Brook Municipal Complex, completed in 2013, combines City Hall with the Mountain Brook Police Department and Mountain Brook Fire Station No. 1, connected by an underground employee parking garage. It replaced an earlier Mountain Brook City Hall in the same site on Church Street in Crestline Village.
City Clerk is Steve Boone and City Treasurer is Billy Angel. The Mountain Brook Tree Commission and Mountain Brook Planning Commission have authority over specific land development issues and make recommendations to the city council.
Education
The city has its own school system, Mountain Brook Schools, which operates four elementary schools (Mountain Brook Elementary School, Cherokee Bend Elementary School, Brookwood Forest Elementary School, and Crestline Elementary School), one junior high school (Mountain Brook Junior High School), and one high school (Mountain Brook High School).
Demographics
The 2020 U.S. Census found 22,461 residents in Mountain Brook, representing 8,365 households. Of those, 21,241 (94.5%) were White; 239 (1.1%) were Asian; and 91 (0.4%) were Black or African American. 351 residents (1.6%) claimed to be Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the census of 2010, there were 20,413 people residing in the city's 8,266 housing units. The population density was 1,593.6/mi² with housing units at an average density of 645.3/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 97% white and 1% Black.
In 2000, there were 7,998 households out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $100,483, and the median income for a family was $156,647. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $39,770 for females. The per capita income for the city was $59,085. 0% of the population is below the poverty line. The home ownership rate (owner-occupied housing units to total units) is 87.2%. The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 6,781 homes in Mountain Brook and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $615,147, a 3.7% increase since 2006.
In 2009 a survey of America's "wealth centers" conducted by American City Business Journals found that Mountain Brook was the 8th wealthiest city in the United States. The survey used a 10-part formula which included household income, median home value and educational attainment. (Cooper-2009)
Mountain Brook is Alabama's best educated city, proportionately, with 79.5% of adult residents (25 and older) holding an associate degree or higher, and 77.3% of adults possessing a baccalaureate degree or higher.
Historical population
year pop. %change 1950 | 8,359 | | 1960 | 12,680 | +51.7% | 1970 | 19,509 | +53.9% | 1980 | 19,718 | +1.1% | 1990 | 19,810 | +0.5% | 2000 | 20,504 | +4.0% | 2010 | 20,413 | -0.9% | 2020 | 22,461 | +10.0% | 2021 | 22,243 | -1.0% | estimate 2022 | 21,955 | -1.3% | estimate 2023 | 21,737 | -0.9% | estimate
References
- Barefield, Marilyn Davis (1989) A History of Mountain Brook, Alabama and Incidentally of Shades Valley Birmingham: Southern University Press ISBN 0876519907
- "Census says Alabamians' incomes up 12 percent" (May 24, 2002) The Birmingham News
- Crowe, Joe B. (December 30, 2008) "Mountain Brook one of wealthiest communities in U.S." The Birmingham News
- Cooper, Lauren B. (April 24, 2009) "Study: Mountain Brook among the richest." Birmingham Business Journal
- "Mountain Brook, Alabama (June 17, 2010) Wikipedia - accessed June 24, 2010
External links
- Mountain Brook official website
- Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce website
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