Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Opelika is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 127th of 187 graded towns in Alabama, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $309K, 4.9 years of the Auburn metro’s $64K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its police reported 164 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 89% of U.S. towns. 36% of working residents work locally in Opelika, against 9.8% in Alabama’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. No town in Alabama scores higher than Opelika on hazard risk. The biggest park or preserve is West Ridge Park, at 52 acres.
Where Opelika beats most towns.
Lee County Courthouse
Census counts: 3,245 in 1880, 30,995 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1971 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Opelika is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Opelika, 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 Opelika.
Opelika carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Alabama (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Auburn and beyond and fares better on crime within Alabama than nationally.
24,558 jobs are based in Opelika, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 18,312 in 2013 to 24,558.
About one in 3 of Opelika’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Opelika grew to 24,558 in 2023, 6,246 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Opelika is 22 minutes.
| Opelika | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.5% | 6.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Opelika City school district. Three of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opelika Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 812 | B− |
| Opelika High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,590 | C+ |
| Morris Avenue Intermediate SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 397 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
At 47.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 72% of Alabama’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,191 to 879 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Opelika’s violent crime rate is 4.5 per 1,000 residents. Opelika reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less. Opelika’s property crime rate is 19.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Opelika | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.8 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 100% of Alabama towns, with expected losses of about $171 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Of the 187 Alabama towns we compare, none has a lower FEMA risk score than Opelika. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Opelika since 1990.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Alabama it is less healthy than 52% of the 187 graded towns: much of Alabama scores lower on these measures.
Opelika beats the Alabama average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 16% of adults have diabetes in Opelika.
| Opelika | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 39% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 43% | 35% |
| What stands out | Opelika | AL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.4% | 9.6% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 17.3% | 13.9% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11.9% | 9.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $1,183, against $788 across Alabama, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Opelika home is worth about $309,000, up 3.1% in a year, 29% above the Alabama typical home. 56% of Opelika renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Opelika | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 56% | 46% | 48% |
| Median rent | $950 a month | $940 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Opelika | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Ridge Park | 0.7 mi | 52 |
| 2. Floral Park | 0.1 mi | 20 |
| 3. Miles Thomas Field | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Opelika weather station records that about 51 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 84% of Alabama places with climate records.
Opelika has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 34° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Alabama average. Opelika has grown 15% since 2020, to 35,765 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Alabama.
| Opelika | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.9 years | 39.2 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.8 points. Across Alabama, 51.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.3, men 38.3.
| Opelika | AL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.8% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.7% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.5% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 7.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.8% | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.5% | 30.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.1% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.2% | 17.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.2% | 11.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Opelika. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi National Historic SiteTuskegee Institute National Historic Site9K visitors a year
8 mi Stadium & arenaJordan–Hare Stadium
31 mi LakeLake Martin
33 mi GardenCallaway Gardens35 mi MuseumU.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection
31 mi MuseumNational Infantry Museum300K visitors a yearTuskegee Institute National Historic Site: 2C2K Photography, CC BY 2.0 · Jordan–Hare Stadium: AuburnPilot, Public domain · Lake Martin: Rebecca Hagen, Public domain · Callaway Gardens: Thomsonmg2000, CC0 · National Infantry Museum: The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center from Columbus, GA, USA, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Opelika
About 4 of every 100 Opelika residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
26,477 counted in 2010 and 30,995 in 2020; an estimated 35,765 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 15.3% since 2020, after 17.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 places in Opelika on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Opelika.
City in Alabama, United States
Opelika (pronounced OH-pə-LY-kə) is a city in, and the county seat of, Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is 30,995, an increase of 17.1 percent from the 2010 Census where the population was 26,477. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population of 174,241, along with the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, comprises the Greater Columbus combined statistical area, a region home to 501,649 residents.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Opelika.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Opelika grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #127 of 187 in Alabama. It grades C− for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
23 notable people were born here, including William Louis Dickinson and Morris Finley.
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