Balad's inhabitants are primarily farmers who work mainly on grape and date farms and as citrus growers.

In the later months of 2014 the city was besieged by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces, which were repelled by the Shia citizens of the city and the Iraqi Army.

During the Iraq War

During the Iraq War Balad was, in 2006, the site of sectarian violence involving Sunni