According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.5 square miles (29.7 km²), of which, 11.3 square miles (29.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.22%) is water.
There were 2,216 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,234, and the median income for a family was $43,548. Males had a median income of $37,348 versus $20,212 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,185. About 12.6% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.
The annual Alabama Blueberry Festival is held at Burnt Corn Creek Park and downtown Brewton. Prior to 2006 it was held on the campus of Jefferson Davis Community College.