Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA (metropolitan statistical area)and is also included in the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, AL CSA. Hoover’s neighborhoods and planned communities are located along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Hoover is home to the Riverchase Galleria, one of the largest shopping centers in the Southeast and one of the largest mixed-use centers in the U.S. with 2.4 million square feet (222,967 m²) of total retail floor area. The Riverchase Galleria complex includes shopping, hotel, and office space. The shopping complex major anchor stores are JCPenney, Belk, Macy's, and Sears. The Birmingham Baronsminor league baseball team, which traces its history to 1885, played its home games at the 10,800 seat Hoover Metropolitan Stadium(the team began playing home games at the Regions Field in downtown Birmingham in April 2013). Michael Jordan's brief professional baseball career was with the Barons in 1994.

History
The City of Hoover was incorporated in 1967. It was named after William H. Hoover, a local insurance company owner. The area had been known as the Green Valley community since the 1930s and was mostly a residential community. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the city was still mostly residential with a small City Hall that included space for the police department. The annexation of the Riverchase business and residential community provided a base of large office buildings and employers to the city. A significant change to the city occurred when Interstate I-459 was opened with a major interchange with Interstate I-65 within the city. The most dramatic change occurred in 1986 when the Riverchase Galleria shopping-hotel-office complex opened. This significantly increased the tax revenue for the city. It was the catalyst to bring new residents and businesses to the city. The city has grown extremely fast with annexations and new developments. The city now provides services from many large city facilities including a Municipal Center, a Library, and a Public Safety Center. Residents and businesses are drawn to the city because of the rolling hills and nice residential areas, schools, city services, shopping, and business communities. The city will likely continue to boom population wise; the population has risen significantly in Hoover from 2008 and is now 81,619 as of the 2010 Census.

Geography
Hoover is located at 33°23′11″N 86°48′18″W.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 43.65 square miles (113.1 km2), of which, 43.13 square miles (111.7 km2) of it is land and 0.51 square miles (1.3 km2) of it (1.17%) is water.

Government
The municipal government has operated under the Mayor-Council form of government since incorporation. The Mayor and City Council are elected on a non-partisan basis to concurrent four-year terms of office which begin on October 1 of election year. Policy-making and legislative authority is vested in the City Council, which consists of seven "at-large" elected members (prior to 2004, the council consisted of five at-large members.) The city council is responsible for, among other things, considering local resolutions and ordinances, adopting an annual budget, and appointing members to local boards and committees. The Mayor is responsible for carrying out and enforcing the city's policies and ordinances.

Economy
The Riverchase Galleria shopping-hotel-office complex provides a large amount of tax money to the city as well as being home to many retail, hotel, and office workers. The Riverchase Office Park as well as other office parks and buildings throughout Hoover houses many large corporations. The Central Business District includes the US 31, Highway 150, and US 280locations. Interstate highways I-65 and I-459 intersect in the city. Major shopping centers in the city include Riverchase Galleria on Highway 31, Patton Creek on Highway 150, and Village at Lee Branch on Highway 280.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,742 people, 25,191 households, and 17,406 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 1,454.6 people per square mile (561.7/km²). There were 27,150 housing units at an average density of 629.4 per square mile (243.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.66% White, 6.77% Black, 0.16% Native American, 2.89% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 3.79% of the population wereHispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 25,191 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $75,365, and the median income for a family was $89,513. Males had a median income of $55,660 versus $34,836 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,361. About 2.1% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Hoover is served by Hoover City Schools. It has ten elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools, Spain Park High School and Hoover High School. Both schools have always been ranked highly in the country for excellent academics, being rated close to the top five-hundred schools in the country. The 2005-2006 school year saw 2,451 students enrolled in Hoover High School, 1,400 in Spain Park High School, with a total of 11,433 students in the Hoover City School system. Spain Park received the National Blue Ribbon Award in 2008.

Berry Middle School, which served as the city's first high school before the present Hoover High was constructed, was closed after the 2005-2006 academic year, with students moved to a new Berry Middle School constructed near the site of Spain Park High School. A poll of residents recently favored selling the school, possibly to the independent Shades Mountain Christian School."Joint offer made for Berry site". The Birmingham News. 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-09. Simmons Middle School and Bumpus Middle School are the city's other middle schools, whose students move on to Hoover High.

Before the 2004-2005 academic year, a few schools, most notably Trace Crossings Elementary, had almost, if not more than, 1,000 students, resulting in the building of Riverchase Elementary. After that, the case of overcrowding was resolved, with many students moving to the new school.

However, a similar case has occurred with Bumpus Middle School, resulting in meetings at multiple district schools to discuss what to do about the case. For the 2011-2012 academic year, Bumpus Middle School and its students were moved to the former freshman center of Hoover High School, and the old Bumpus site became Brock's Gap Intermediate School, which serves 5th and 6th graders. Bumpus Middle School now serves 7th and 8th graders.