Best PlacesOpelika, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Opelika, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Opelika ranks 1,584th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Opelika
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Opelika's strengths and weaknesses
Where Opelika ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of cities
- Cheap childcare$635 a month, better than 95% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 80% of cities
Where Opelika ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 4% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Opelika
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Opelika home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,626, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Opelika's effective rate of 0.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Opelika
Opelika's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Opelika.
Who works in Opelika, and how
Work in Opelika centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Opelika
Opelika has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of cities and more parkland per resident than 81% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Opelika and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Opelika, month by month
Opelika sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 47° | 37° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Opelika
The nearest airport, Columbus, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around Opelika
Schools across Opelika average a C, better than 26% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Ogletree Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Pick Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Northside SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Drake Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Sanford Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Smiths Station Junior High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Auburn High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Opelika High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Smiths Station High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Opelika school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Opelika measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Opelika against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Opelika suits
Common questions about living in Opelika
Is Opelika a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Opelika ranks 1,584th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and tree cover, and lowest on taxes and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Opelika expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,946. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $67,626 median income, cost of living beats 28% of cities.
Is Opelika safe?
Opelika is safer than 34% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $379 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Opelika?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 57 with lows near 37. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 53% of cities.
Is Opelika good for families?
Schools beat 26% of cities, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $635 a month.
Compare Opelika with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Opelika. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Opelika represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Opelika detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Opelika: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Opelika: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Opelika: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Opelika: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Opelika detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.