Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 26,625, settled in 1889. 3.1 times the library visits per person than the typical Alabama town.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades B−, ranked 59th of 187 in Alabama. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 76% of the country. 54% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fairhope, where Alabama’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 29%. Only 5 of Alabama’s 308 towns score lower on cost of living. Fairhope has 15 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Montrose Historic District and US Post Office.
Where Fairhope beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 590 in 1910, 22,477 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 7 maps from 1921 on.
15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Fairhope is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairhope. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi MuseumUSS Alabama
14 mi MuseumUSS Drum
14 mi MuseumBattleship Memorial Park
22 mi MuseumFort Morgan
38 mi LandmarkFort Pickens
37 mi Ancient siteUSS MassachusettsUSS Alabama: USN, Public domain · USS Drum: Jean-Pierre Martin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Battleship Memorial Park: Rennett Stowe from USA, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Morgan: Altairisfar, Public domain · Fort Pickens: Notneb82, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fairhope, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Fairhope.
Fairhope fares better on crime within Alabama than nationally and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Alabama (mostly hurricanes).
At 6 years of the Daphne metro’s $79K median household income, the typical home (about $471K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Alabama towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,758, against $788 across Alabama, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Fairhope is $1,689 a month. The typical Fairhope home is worth about $471,000, up 1.6% in a year, 97% above the Alabama typical home. 80% of households own their home in Fairhope.
| Fairhope | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,689 a month | $940 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Baldwin County school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Fairhope High School, with 1,536 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhope West ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 972 | A+ |
| Fairhope High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,536 | A− |
| Fairhope East ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 913 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
6.3 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Flying Creek Nature Preserve, 78 acres with 3.3 miles of trail.
| Fairhope | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Flying Creek Nature Preserve | 3.3 mi | 78 |
| 2. Fairhoper's Community Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
| 3. Fairhope Municipal Park | — | 54 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Alabama towns, with expected losses of about $208 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 111 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 14 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 111 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fairhope.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
13% of Fairhope adults report frequent mental distress. Fairhope beats the Alabama average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 17% of Fairhope adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Fairhope | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 40% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 43% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fairhope | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.7% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.6% | 19.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.6% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 42.1°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.1°. The Fairhope 2 Ne weather station records that about 81 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 88% of Alabama places with climate records.
Fairhope has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Fairhope’s January low is 42°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Fairhope | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 7,349 in 2013 to 10,480.
About one in 5 of Fairhope’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Fairhope grew to 10,480 in 2023, 3,131 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Mobile (23%), Daphne (9%) and Foley (4%).
| Fairhope | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.2% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 6.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 18.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 81% of Alabama’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fairhope
About 3 of every 100 Fairhope residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
15,326 counted in 2010 and 22,477 in 2020; an estimated 26,625 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 16.6% since 2020, after 46.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
15 places in Fairhope on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Fairhope.
City in Alabama, United States
Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The population was 22,477 at the 2020 census. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area, which includes all of Baldwin County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Fairhope.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhope | #59 | B− | C | B− | B+ | A− |
| Point Clear | — | — | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Daphne | #30 | A− | B− | B+ | B+ | A− |
Point Clear has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Point Clear reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Fairhope with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fairhope grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #59 of 187 in Alabama. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
6 notable people were born here, including Dave Stapleton and Katie George.
.jpg){kind=link}
._Starboard_bow_at_wharf,_06-1901_-_NARA_-_535432.jpg){kind=link}