| | Birmingham, AL | Hickory, NC | United States |
| Unemployment Rate | 5.6% | 4.5% | 6.0% |
| Recent Job Growth | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| Future Job Growth | 29.2% | 38.7% | 33.5% |
| Sales Taxes | 10.0% | 7.0% | 6.2% |
| Income Taxes | 6.0% | 5.3% | 4.6% |
| Income per Cap. | $26,746 | $32,745 | $37,638 |
| Household Income | $39,403 | $53,117 | $69,021 |
| Family Median Income | $51,254 | $73,039 | $85,028 |
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| Est. Households By Income | | | |
| | Birmingham, AL | Hickory, NC | United States |
| Income Less Than 15K | 19.3% | 12.5% | 9.4% |
| Income between 15K and 20K | 7.0% | 5.4% | 3.8% |
| Income between 20K and 30K | 13.1% | 11.5% | 8.1% |
| Income between 30K and 40K | 11.2% | 10.3% | 8.0% |
| Income between 40K and 50K | 8.4% | 7.4% | 7.6% |
| Income between 50K and 60K | 8.8% | 8.5% | 7.2% |
| Income between 60K and 75K | 7.7% | 8.2% | 9.6% |
| Income between 75K and 100K | 9.5% | 12.1% | 12.8% |
| Income between 100K and 150K | 8.5% | 12.7% | 16.3% |
| Income between 150K and 200K | 3.4% | 6.1% | 7.8% |
| Income greater than 200K | 3.2% | 5.5% | 9.5% |
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| Population By Occupation | | | |
| | Birmingham, AL | Hickory, NC | United States |
| Management, business, finance | 13.2% | 17.2% | 16.4% |
| Engineering, computers, science | 4.9% | 4.9% | 6.5% |
| Community, social services | 2.0% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| Legal | 1.4% | 0.4% | 1.2% |
| Education, library | 5.4% | 6.1% | 6.2% |
| Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2.0% |
| Healthcare practitioners and technology | 7.1% | 7.7% | 6.2% |
| Healthcare support | 4.4% | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| Firefighters, law enforcement | 2.3% | 1.4% | 2.1% |
| Food preparation, serving | 6.3% | 5.1% | 5.4% |
| Building maintenance | 4.3% | 2.6% | 3.6% |
| Personal care | 2.6% | 3.1% | 2.6% |
| Sales, office, administrative support | 22.3% | 20.7% | 20.9% |
| Farming, fishing, forestry | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.6% |
| Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair | 6.0% | 7.3% | 8.1% |
| Production, transportation, material moving | 15.8% | 17.7% | 13.1% |