Welcome to Helena ...
The city of Helena is primarily located in Shelby County<1>. A portion of Helena extends into Jefferson County.
The location of Helena has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Helena has a population of 19,869 people<3> (see below for details).
Helena was established in 1845.
The community of Helena is 430 feet [131 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Helena lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Helena is within the boundaries of the (205) area code.
The ZIP code for Helena: 35080<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Helena had an population of 19,869 people. This is an increase of 18.32% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 92.98% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Helena had a population of 16,793 people (which is 8.61% of the total population of Shelby County). This makes Helena the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Helena represents 0.35% of the total population of Alabama (which has 4,779,736 people), making it the state's 34th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 16,793 people, the population of Helena increased 63.1% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 10,296 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Helena.
Communities Also Named Helena ...
Using our Gazetteer, we have found that there are 35 communities that are also named Helena - they are located in Arizona, Arkansas, California (2), Florida, Georgia, Idaho (2), Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan (3), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska, Nevada (2), New York, North Carolina (2), North Dakota, Ohio (2), Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Helena.
Communities near Helena ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Helena.
- Birmingham [Jefferson County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Birmingham [Jefferson County] lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<6> to the north of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206,950 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Birmingham
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Birmingham<7>
- Hoover [Jefferson County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Hoover [Jefferson County] lies 8 miles [12.9 km]<6> to the northeast of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85,959 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Hoover
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoover<7>
- Vestavia Hills [Jefferson County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vestavia Hills
- Vestavia Hills [Jefferson County] lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<6> to the north of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,317 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Vestavia Hills
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vestavia Hills<7>
- Bessemer [Jefferson County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bessemer
- Bessemer [Jefferson County] lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<6> to the northwest of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,043 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Bessemer
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bessemer<7>
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Homewood [Jefferson County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Homewood [Jefferson County] lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<6> to the north of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,174 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Homewood
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homewood<7>
- Pelham [Shelby County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Pelham [Shelby County] lies 6 miles [9.7 km]<6> to the east of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,231 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Pelham
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham<7>
- Mountain Brook [Jefferson County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Brook
- Mountain Brook [Jefferson County] lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<6> to the northeast of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,034 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Mountain Brook
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain Brook<7>
- Calera [Shelby County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calera
- Calera [Shelby County] lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<6> to the southeast of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,248 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Calera
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calera<7>
- Hueytown [Jefferson County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hueytown
- Hueytown [Jefferson County] lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<6> to the northwest of Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,202 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Hueytown
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hueytown<7>
- Chelsea [Shelby County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Chelsea [Shelby County] lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<6> to the east of Helena
- Estimated population in 2015: 12,059 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Chelsea
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chelsea<7>
- Homewood [Jefferson County]
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Helena. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Helena.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Helena. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Helena.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Helena. See our Newspapers Page for Helena.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Helena ...
Looking for more information about Helena? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Helena, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Helena.
Adding Helena to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Helena in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
In addition, our notes show that the earliest dated mention that we've found for Helena was in the Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Helena on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Alabama (1911).
For more details about the above, see References and Mentions for Helena on our Genealogy Page.
Other Roadside Stops ...
Mentions & References for Helena
Index of Cities, Towns and Villages for Alabama
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Helena. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Shelby County: www.shelbycountyalabama.com/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Shelby, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we have found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Helena. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Helena - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Helena). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Helena or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Helena) to Point B.If you need the driving distance, we recommend that you use one of the Mapping Services listed on our Map Page for Helena. Since we usually use Google Maps for our own planning, we've provided the following link for your convenience: Google Map and Driving Directions starting from HelenaOur distance measurements begin at a specific point in Helena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2849, Longitude: -86.8688 In this case, the coordinates for Helena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |