Mobile County, Alabama

30°47′11″N 88°12′50″W / 30.78639°N 88.21389°W / 30.78639; -88.21389

Mobile County
County
Mobile Government Plaza in Mobile
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°47′11″N 88°12′50″W / 30.7864°N 88.2139°W / 30.7864; -88.2139
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Founded	December 18, 1812[1]
Named for	Mobile Bay
Seat	Mobile
Largest city	Mobile
Area
• Total	1,644 sq mi (4,260 km2)
• Land	1,229 sq mi (3,180 km2)
• Water	415 sq mi (1,070 km2)  25.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	414,809
• Estimate  (2023)	411,640
• Density	250/sq mi (97/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	mobilecountyal.gov
County Number 02 on Alabama license plates One of three counties shuffled to the top 3 numbers because of population size

Mobile County (/moʊˈbiːl/ moh-BEEL) is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the third-most populous county in the state after Jefferson and Madison counties. As of the 2020 census, its population was 414,809.^[2] Its county seat is Mobile, which was founded as a deepwater port on the Mobile River. The only such port in Alabama, it has long been integral to the economy for providing access to inland waterways as well as the Gulf of Mexico.^[3]

The city, river, and county were named in honor of Maubila, a village of the paramount chief Tuskaloosa of the regional Mississippian culture. In 1540 he arranged an ambush of soldiers of Hernando de Soto's expedition in an effort to expel them from the territory. The Spaniards were armed with guns and killed many of the tribe. Mobile County and Washington County, Alabama make up the Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Area with a 2020 population of 430,197. The Mobile, AL MSA and Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL MSA make up the much larger Mobile-Daphne-Fairhope CSA with a 2020 population of 661,964.

The northern border of Mobile County and southern area of neighboring Washington County constitute the homeland of the state-recognized tribe of MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, descendants of Choctaw and Creek who stayed in this area during the period of Indian Removal. They have organized to preserve their culture and language. They were the first of nine tribes to be recognized by the state.