Population
Tuscaloosa
107,699
Opelika
31,944
Median Income
Tuscaloosa
$48,536
Opelika
$58,763
Home Value
Tuscaloosa
$236,600
Opelika
$213,700
Rent
Tuscaloosa
$1,005
Opelika
$947
Crime Rate
Tuscaloosa
5.53
Opelika
5.60
Cost of Living
Tuscaloosa
91.6
Opelika
95.7
Avg Temp
Tuscaloosa
N/A
Opelika
N/A
Unemployment
Tuscaloosa
7.0%
Opelika
5.1%
How Similar Are Tuscaloosa & Opelika?
Opelika is Tuscaloosa's #17 most similar city
5 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Tuscaloosa
107,699
Opelika
31,944
Tuscaloosa (107,699) is about 3.4x larger than Opelika (31,944).
Violent Crime
Tuscaloosa
5.53
Opelika
5.60
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 1% difference.
Property Crime
Tuscaloosa
27.31
Opelika
26.24
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 4% difference.
Political Leaning
Tuscaloosa
59.8%
Opelika
63.3%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 6% difference.
Unemployment
Tuscaloosa
7.0%
Opelika
5.1%
Tuscaloosa has a 28% higher unemployment than Opelika.
Median Income
Tuscaloosa
$48,536
Opelika
$58,763
Opelika has a 17% higher median income than Tuscaloosa.
Home Values
Tuscaloosa
$236,600
Opelika
$213,700
Both cities have similar home values — just a 10% difference.
Education
Tuscaloosa
20.8%
Opelika
24.0%
Opelika has a 13% higher education than Tuscaloosa.
Demographics
Tuscaloosa
49.6%
Opelika
55.4%
Opelika has a 10% higher demographics than Tuscaloosa.
Cost of Living
Tuscaloosa
91.6
Opelika
95.7
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 4% difference.
5 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Tuscaloosa and Opelika share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Tuscaloosa
0
Opelika
Opelika leads in 5 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Tuscaloosa leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDTuscaloosa scores 74.2 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 89.7 in Opelika. Tuscaloosa has a fair market rent (1br) of $972 vs $1,077 in Opelika (10% lower). Tuscaloosa scores 87.1 on the food index (100 = national avg) vs 94.9 in Opelika.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Opelika leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSOpelika has a vacancy rate of 8.8% compared to 21.5% in Tuscaloosa. Opelika has a owner-occupied of 68.8% compared to 45.1% in Tuscaloosa. Opelika has a single-family homes of 70.3% compared to 51.9% in Tuscaloosa.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Opelika leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSTuscaloosa: 52,601 vs Opelika: 15,700 for labor force. Opelika has a poverty rate of 15.0% compared to 23.8% in Tuscaloosa. Opelika has a unemployment rate of 5.1% compared to 7.0% in Tuscaloosa.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Opelika leads
Source: FBI UCRTuscaloosa has a property crime clearance of 37.0% compared to 19.1% in Opelika. Opelika has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.09 compared to 0.16 in Tuscaloosa. Opelika has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 2.06 compared to 3.19 in Tuscaloosa.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Opelika leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauOpelika has a high school diploma or higher of 41.5% compared to 34.7% in Tuscaloosa. Opelika has a bachelor's degree or higher of 24.0% compared to 20.8% in Tuscaloosa.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSTuscaloosa has a population of 107,699, about 3.4x the size of Opelika (31,944). Tuscaloosa skews younger with a median age of 28.2 vs 40.2.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Tuscaloosa
Opelika
Healthcare — Opelika leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareOpelika: 2.0 vs Tuscaloosa: 1.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5). Opelika: 5 vs Tuscaloosa: 3 for with emergency services.
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Tuscaloosa leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSTuscaloosa has a bicycle of 0.6% compared to 0.2% in Opelika. Tuscaloosa has a work from home of 7.6% compared to 5.9% in Opelika. Tuscaloosa has a public transit of 1.6% compared to 1.4% in Opelika.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Tuscaloosa, AL
Compare Tuscaloosa against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.