Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C+, 75th of 187 graded towns in Alabama. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 65% of Alabama towns. A typical home there costs about $303K, 3.8 years of the Daphne metro’s $79K median household income. 32% of residents are 65 or older in Foley, against 18% in Alabama’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Among 187 Alabama towns, just 1 have a higher median age than Foley. Foley has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Foley Downtown Historic District (Boundary Decrease) and Foley Downtown Historic District (Boundary Increase).
14,618 counted in 2010 and 20,335 in 2020; an estimated 30,354 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 46.5% since 2020, after 39.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Foley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 243 in 1920, 20,335 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1921 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Foley, 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 Foley.
Foley reports less crime than Gulf Shores or any other graded neighbor and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Alabama (mostly hurricanes).
15 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Foley Sports Complex, 91 acres with 1.5 miles of trail.
| Foley | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Foley Sports Complex | 1.5 mi | 91 |
| 2. Aaronville Park | — | 20 |
| 3. Cedar Street, Baseball Park | — | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Baldwin County school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Foley High School, with 1,520 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florence B Mathis ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 1,023 | B− |
| Foley High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,520 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Alabama towns, with expected losses of about $475 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 195 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 34 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 195 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Foley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
16% of residents are under 18 in Foley. Foley has grown 47% since 2020, to 30,354 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Alabama.
| Foley | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 23% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women.
| Foley | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.5% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.8% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.8% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.5% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.9% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.6% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.2% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.7% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.4% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.2% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
64.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.8% across Alabama.
The typical Foley home is worth about $303,000, down 1.6% in a year, 27% above the Alabama typical home. Foley’s median rent is $1,242 a month.
| Foley | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,242 a month | $940 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 41.7°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.8°.
The January low in Foley is 42°F. Foley has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Foley is 91°F.
| Foley | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 8,858 in 2013 to 11,772.
About one in 4 of Foley’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Foley has added 2,914 jobs, to 11,772 in 2023. The top destinations are Gulf Shores (12%), Mobile (10%) and Orange Beach (9%).
| Foley | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 11% | 6.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Crime runs higher than in most U.S. towns, but its C+ tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Gulf Shores (C−) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 439 to 381 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Alabama, it does better than 76% of towns.
| Foley | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.7 per 1,000 residents | 17 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 10,129 U.S. towns with household incomes like Foley’s, it is healthier than 62%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Alabama it is healthier than 68% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures.
Foley beats the Alabama average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 47% of Foley adults have high blood pressure.
| Foley | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 43% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 12% |
| What stands out | Foley | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.9% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.6% | 13.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.4% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Foley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi MuseumUSS Alabama
23 mi LandmarkFort Pickens
22 mi Ancient siteUSS Massachusetts
24 mi MuseumFort Morgan
22 mi MuseumNational Naval Aviation Museum
29 mi MuseumUSS DrumUSS Alabama: USN, Public domain · Fort Pickens: Notneb82, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain · Fort Morgan: Altairisfar, Public domain · National Naval Aviation Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Drum: Jean-Pierre Martin, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Foley; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Foley residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
2 places in Foley on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Foley.
City in Alabama, United States
Foley is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. The 2020 census lists the population of the city as 20,335 Foley 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)
3 towns share a border with Foley.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foley | #75 | C+ | B− | C+ | B+ | B− |
| Gulf Shores | #74 | C+ | C | C− | A | B+ |
| Summerdale | — | — | A | D | B+ | C− |
| Orange Beach | #53 | B | C | C− | A | A− |
Summerdale has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Foley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Foley grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #75 of 187 in Alabama. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Alabama, it does better than 76% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
6 notable people were born here, including Julio Jones and Ken Stabler.
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