Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades B, ranked 53rd of 187 in Alabama. Its schools outperform 89% of the state's and residents are healthier than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its weakest subject is safety: it reports more crime per resident than 80% of U.S. towns, including 41 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Only 13 of Alabama’s 308 towns score lower on cost of living. Gulf State Park, at 829 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On walkability, just 16 of Alabama’s 308 towns do better.
Where Orange Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Orange Beach Elementary School | PK–6 | 600 |
| Orange Beach MiddleHigh School | 7–12 | 662 |
5,441 counted in 2010 and 8,095 in 2020; an estimated 8,798 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.7% since 2020, after 48.8% 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 Orange Beach is from typical.
Its grades run from A for schools (better than 89% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 2%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,253 in 1990, 8,095 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1921 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Orange Beach, 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 Orange Beach.
Orange Beach is a second-home town and draws workers from Gulf Shores and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Alabama (mostly hurricanes).
At 8.7 years of the Daphne metro’s $79K median household income, the typical home (about $685K) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Alabama towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,468, against $788 across Alabama, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Orange Beach home is worth about $685,000, up 0.9% in a year, 3 times the Alabama typical home. Orange Beach’s median rent is $1,576 a month, above both the Alabama town median ($940 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Orange Beach | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,576 a month | $940 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Orange Beach City school district. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Orange Beach MiddleHigh School, with 662 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Beach Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 600 | – |
| Orange Beach MiddleHigh SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 662 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests
Its A− for the outdoors ranks #5 of 187 in Alabama.
13 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Orange Beach’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile, where Alabama’s towns sit at 0.1 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Orange Beach | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.7% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gulf State Park | 1.5 mi | 829 |
| 2. Waterfront Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Common Area | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
7,170 jobs are based in Orange Beach, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 4,876 in 2013 to 7,170.
2.6% of residents live below the poverty line in Orange Beach. Since 2013, Orange Beach has added 2,294 jobs, to 7,170 in 2023. Orange Beach’s median household income is $98,000.
| Orange Beach | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.6% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Alabama towns, with expected losses of about $1,142 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 1,665 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 164 properties have flooded more than once.
Of the 187 Alabama towns we compare, none has a higher FEMA risk score than Orange Beach. Since 1995, 1,665 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Orange Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Alabama is food insecurity: 8.8% of its 6,851 adults worry about having enough food, against 19.2% statewide.
29% of Orange Beach adults feel lonely. Orange Beach beats the Alabama average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 14% of Orange Beach adults report frequent mental distress.
| Orange Beach | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 36% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 40% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Orange Beach | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 19.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.5% | 9.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.3% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The violent crime rate in Orange Beach is 4.7 per 1,000 residents. Orange Beach reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 80% report less. Within Alabama, it does better than 49% of towns.
| Orange Beach | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.9 per 1,000 residents | 17 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 43°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.1°. The Pensacola Forest Sherman Nas weather station, 17 miles away, records that about 56 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 78% of Alabama places with climate records.
Orange Beach has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Among 187 Alabama towns, just 2 have a higher January low than Orange Beach. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Orange Beach | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Orange Beach. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi MuseumUSS Alabama
18 mi LandmarkFort Pickens
17 mi Ancient siteUSS Massachusetts6 mi BeachOno Island
18 mi MuseumNational Naval Aviation Museum
26 mi MuseumFort MorganUSS Alabama: USN, Public domain · Fort Pickens: Notneb82, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain · National Naval Aviation Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Morgan: Altairisfar, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Orange Beach; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Orange Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
7.7% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
City in Alabama, United States
Orange Beach is a resort city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. The population was 8,095 at the 2020 census. According to 2023 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 8,534.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Orange Beach.
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Beach | #53 | B | C | C− | A | A− |
| Gulf Shores | #74 | C+ | C | C− | A | B+ |
| Foley | #75 | C+ | B− | C+ | B+ | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Orange Beach grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #53 of 187 in Alabama. It grades A− for health, C− for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Alabama, it does better than 49% of towns.
That is 8.7 years of the area's median household income ($78,775 across the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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