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Ham radio operators in Alabama: new licenses by county

12,054 licensed amateur radio operators; 349 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
23
New hams · last 12 months
349
▼ 15% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
12,054
Upgrades · 12 mo
190
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
107
Address updates · 12 mo
181
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
637

About ham radio in Alabama

New licenses slowed in Alabama: 349 new hams in the past 12 months, 15% fewer than the year before. Alabama ranks #25 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Madison County leads the state with 69 new hams. Technicians make up 44% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, a sign of an experienced community with many HF operators. 190 operators upgraded their license in the past year, the moment many buy their first HF rig.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Alabama, October 2025 to September 2026 349 in total. Highest: 42 in May 2026. Lowest: 0 in October 2025. Down 15% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 0 new hams 0 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 36 new hams 36 Nov Dec 2025: 24 new hams 24 Dec Jan 2026: 22 new hams 22 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 38 new hams 38 Feb Mar 2026: 40 new hams 40 Mar Apr 2026: 31 new hams 31 Apr May 2026: 42 new hams 42 May Jun 2026: 32 new hams 32 Jun Jul 2026: 23 new hams 23 Jul Aug 2026: 36 new hams 36 Aug Sep 2026: 25 new hams 25 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Alabama
MonthNew hams
Oct 20250
Nov 202536
Dec 202524
Jan 202622
Feb 202638
Mar 202640
Apr 202631
May 202642
Jun 202632
Jul 202623
Aug 202636
Sep 202625
Total349

License classes

Active licensees in Alabama by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 5,24244%48%
General 3,24027%25%
Amateur Extra 2,89324%21%
Advanced 4113%3%
Novice / Other 2682%2%

Bar = Alabama share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 92 operators upgraded to General and 85 to Amateur Extra.

How Alabama compares

#25 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsAlabamaU.S.
New hams, past 12 months29.032.3
Upgrades, past 12 months15.814.7
Expiring, next 6 months52.857.3

349 new hams in Alabama this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 10 Alabama counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Madison County69▼ 32%2,27730.3
2Jefferson County27▼ 16%1,08924.8
3Mobile County19▲ 36%59132.1
4Tuscaloosa County16—40739.3
5Houston County13—19666.3
6Limestone County13▼ 41%42830.4
7Shelby County13▼ 55%68519.0
8Baldwin County10▼ 67%59916.7
9St. Clair County10—27536.4
10Lauderdale County9—32627.6

— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.

All Alabama counties

30 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Alabama counties

These 37 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 37 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Barbour County190
Bibb County440
Bullock County51
Butler County360
Chambers County532
Chilton County860
Choctaw County100
Clarke County191
Clay County441
Cleburne County380
Conecuh County50
Coosa County180
Crenshaw County212
Dallas County150
Escambia County563
Fayette County534
Franklin County512
Geneva County391
Greene County51
Hale County171
Henry County351
Lamar County570
Lawrence County872
Lowndes County100
Macon County160
Marengo County280
Marion County654
Monroe County310
Perry County70
Pickens County270
Pike County421
Randolph County790
Sumter County80
Tallapoosa County882
Washington County170
Wilcox County70
Winston County430

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Alabama

How many ham radio operators are in Alabama?

12,054 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Alabama as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Alabama last year?

349 people in Alabama received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Alabama counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Madison County (69), Jefferson County (27) and Mobile County (19).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

99% of Alabama licensees could be matched to a county.