The Mobile County Alabama map is most useful when the county is divided into distinct geographic systems: the Mobile–Prichard urban and port core, the Saraland–Satsuma–Axis industrial corridor along I-65, the Semmes–Citronelle inland west, the Theodore–Grand Bay–Bayou La Batre coastal south, and Dauphin Island at the mouth of Mobile Bay. Rivers, marshes, bayous, and open bay water constrain road connections, so travel patterns cannot be read from straight-line distance alone.
Table of Contents
Download the Mobile County map
The JPG preserves the 21 labeled places while separating the urban core, northern industrial corridor, inland west, southern Gulf Coast communities, and Dauphin Island.
- Map file: Mobile County map
- File format: JPG
- Coverage: County boundary and selected labeled places
Quick Facts
| State | Alabama |
|---|---|
| County | Mobile County |
| County seat | Mobile |
| 2025 population estimate | 411,658 |
| 2020 census population | 414,809 |
| 2020 land area | 1,229.37 sq mi |
| 2020 population density | 337.4 per sq mi |
| Main routes | I-10, I-65, U.S. 43, U.S. 45, U.S. 90, U.S. 98, AL 158, AL 163, AL 188, AL 193 |
| Major waters | Mobile River, Mobile Bay, Dog River, Fowl River, Gulf of Mexico |
| Municipalities | 11 incorporated municipalities |
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 411,658 residents as of July 1, 2025, down 0.8 percent from the 2020 estimates base of 414,812. The 2020 census counted 414,809 residents. Mobile County remains one of Alabama’s largest population centers, but its recent countywide trend is closer to stability or modest decline than rapid suburban expansion.
The county contains 1,229.37 square miles of land and had a 2020 density of 337.4 people per square mile. That average combines a dense Mobile–Prichard urban area with much lower-density inland, wetland, and coastal territory, so the map is more meaningful when those zones are separated.
What the Map Shows
Mobile is the county seat and the dominant port, government, medical, educational, and commercial center. It occupies the west side of the Mobile River near the head of Mobile Bay, where I-10 and I-65 connect the Gulf Coast with inland Alabama.
Prichard, Chickasaw, Saraland, and Satsuma form a nearly continuous northern urban-industrial belt. I-65, U.S. 43, rail lines, and river-adjacent industrial land overlap here, creating a corridor whose geography is driven as much by freight and manufacturing as by residential growth.
Axis, Calvert, Bucks, Creola, and Mount Vernon extend that pattern farther north into a more dispersed industrial and rural landscape. Large manufacturing sites, rail access, the Mobile River system, and U.S. 43 make these labels especially important for reading northern Mobile County.
Semmes and Citronelle define the inland west and northwest. Semmes sits on the outer edge of the Mobile urban area, while Citronelle is a much more distant small city whose road relationships extend toward Washington County and Mississippi as well as toward Mobile.
Theodore and Tillmans Corner mark the southwestern suburban and industrial transition. I-10, U.S. 90, Alabama 163, and county roads split travel toward downtown Mobile, industrial waterfronts, Dog River, and the lower coastal communities.
Grand Bay and Bayou La Batre belong to the Gulf-oriented southwest. Grand Bay sits on the I-10/U.S. 90 approach from Mississippi, while Bayou La Batre has a long-standing seafood-processing, fishing, and marine-service economy tied directly to the bayous and Gulf access.
Dauphin Island is the southernmost municipality and a barrier island at the mouth of Mobile Bay. Its only road connection to the mainland is Alabama 193 across the high-rise bridge, which makes the island a geographic endpoint rather than a continuation of the mainland street network.
County Layout and Location
Mobile County occupies Alabama’s southwestern corner along Mississippi, Mobile Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. Washington County lies to the north, Baldwin County is across the bay and river system to the east, and the southern county opens directly to Gulf waters.
I-10 is the defining east-west Gulf Coast corridor. It connects Mississippi with Mobile, crosses toward Baldwin County, and serves the Tillmans Corner, Theodore, and Grand Bay side of the county while also feeding port and industrial traffic.
I-65 begins in Mobile and runs north through Prichard, Saraland, and Satsuma. It is the principal highway connection between the Port of Mobile and inland Alabama and helps explain the concentration of logistics and industrial activity along the northern urban corridor.
U.S. 43 serves Chickasaw, Saraland, Satsuma, and the Mount Vernon direction; U.S. 45 heads northwest toward Mississippi; U.S. 98 serves western Mobile and Semmes; and U.S. 90 is the older southwest corridor through Tillmans Corner and Grand Bay.
Alabama 163 forms much of the Dauphin Island Parkway approach south of Mobile, Alabama 188 ties Grand Bay to Bayou La Batre and Coden, and Alabama 193 carries the final mainland-to-island connection. These roads become increasingly important as the street grid gives way to tidal creeks and marsh.
ALDOT lists a November 2004 countywide functional-classification map for Mobile County and a May 2025 Mobile MPO map. The MPO map is the better reference for the current I-10/I-65 urban network, while the older countywide sheet remains useful for the broad rural and northern framework.
Local Context
Mobile County was created on December 18, 1812, while the area was part of Mississippi Territory. The county and city take their name from Fort Louis de la Mobile, a French settlement established near present-day Mount Vernon in 1702. French, British, Spanish, and finally U.S. control shaped the region before Alabama statehood.
The Port of Mobile is the county’s defining economic geography. At the Mobile River–Mobile Bay gateway, it connects ocean shipping with I-10, I-65, railroads, barges, and inland waterways serving manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and distribution markets across Alabama and beyond.
The current container terminal has 50-foot vessel access, a 2,400-foot deepwater berth, a 149-acre footprint, and annual throughput above 500,000 TEUs. Direct access to five Class I railroads and two Interstate systems makes the port a national logistics node rather than only a local waterfront facility.
The Mobile River opens northward into the Mobile–Tensaw Delta and southward into Mobile Bay. This creates a wide water-and-wetland barrier east of downtown, concentrating cross-bay travel onto major causeway and bridge corridors instead of a normal urban street grid.
Bayou La Batre represents a different maritime economy. Alabama regional information describes seafood as a mainstay since the mid-1920s, and Mobile County broke ground in 2025 on a $30.5 million redevelopment of the historic city docks to modernize infrastructure used by fishermen and marine businesses.
Dauphin Island lies about three miles south of Mobile Bay and is officially described as a barrier island. Its Gulf beaches, bay shore, fishing, marine research, and bird habitat give the southern tip of the county a physical environment very different from the urbanized head of Mobile Bay.
Dog River and the Fowl River system shape southern mainland settlement around Theodore, Belle Fontaine, Coden, and nearby communities. Tidal creeks, marshes, and bayous fragment the road network and increase the importance of bridges and higher-ground corridors.
Northern Mobile County has another distinct land-use pattern. Axis, Calvert, and Mount Vernon combine rail, U.S. 43, large industrial properties, and access to the Mobile River system, producing a heavy-industry corridor that contrasts sharply with the seafood coast and western inland suburbs.
Ways to Use This Map
Start with Mobile, then trace I-65 north and I-10 east-west. Those two Interstates establish the urban core and separate the northern industrial corridor from the southwest suburban and coastal side.
Next place Mobile Bay and the Mobile River on the eastern edge and follow Alabama 163 and 193 south to Dauphin Island. This reveals why the lower county depends on a small number of road corridors even though many communities appear close together on a county outline.
Finally, separate Grand Bay–Bayou La Batre from Semmes–Citronelle. The first group faces the Gulf, seafood, I-10, and coastal waterways; the second belongs to a more inland residential and rural road network.
- Use Mobile and Prichard as the urban, port, and I-10/I-65 core.
- Group Saraland, Satsuma, Axis, and Calvert along the northern industrial and river corridor.
- Read Semmes and Citronelle as the inland west and northwest.
- Group Theodore, Grand Bay, and Bayou La Batre as the mainland Gulf-oriented south.
- Use Dauphin Island and Alabama 193 to orient the barrier-island endpoint of the county.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should the Port of Mobile and I-10/I-65 be read together on the county map?
The port’s cargo moves inland by rail, barge, truck, and Interstate, and Mobile is the meeting point of I-10 and the southern end of I-65. Reading the port and highways together explains why industrial development extends north through Prichard, Saraland, Satsuma, Axis, and Calvert rather than remaining only on the downtown waterfront.
Why are Dauphin Island and Bayou La Batre separate coastal zones?
Bayou La Batre is a mainland bayou city built around fishing, seafood processing, docks, and marine services. Dauphin Island is a barrier island at the mouth of Mobile Bay reached by Alabama 193. Their economies are both maritime, but their road access and physical geography are fundamentally different.
Related Alabama County Maps
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts
- Mobile County official history and municipal information
- ALDOT Highway Functional Classification Maps
- Alabama Port Authority: Port of Mobile
- Alabama Port Authority: Container Terminal
- Mobile County: Bayou La Batre City Docks redevelopment
- Town of Dauphin Island official information
- Mobile County GIS / Mapping
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