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Place dossier plate
SheetAL-ORANGE-BEACH-AL · Orange Beach, AL 8,244 pop · income 70th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Orange Beach
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Orange Beach on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Atmore · lowest
33,104
Atmore · lowest
33,104 median HH income
23.4% of the leader · rank #1
Halls · near
89,032
Halls · near
89,032 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #2
Orange Beach · this city
89,034
Orange Beach · this city
89,034 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #3
Circle D-KC E… · near
89,037
Circle D-KC E… · near
89,037 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #4
Utqiaġvik · near
89,038
Utqiaġvik · near
89,038 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #5
Helena Valley… · near
89,040
Helena Valley… · near
89,040 median HH income
63.0% of the leader · rank #6
Dayton · highest
141,308
Dayton · highest
141,308 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Orange Beach on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 8,244.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Orange Beach - the verdict
Orange Beach ranks in the 70th percentile for household income and the 28th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
70th
percentile, household income
83rd
percentile, home value
1st
percentile, median rent
28th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Orange Beach, AL
Orange Beach is a small town in Alabama, home to 8,244 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Orange Beach brings in $89,034 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.5%. Orange Beach's housing stock carries a median value of $476,000, and the median resident age is 51.1 years. 37.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 468 residential building permits were authorized in Orange Beach (Building Boom), up 94% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 2202.2 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Alabama run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Alabama scores 88.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $936 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Alabama's average monthly utility costs around $245 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 61.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Orange Beach's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to reported crime to population change to housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Orange Beach, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Orange Beach?
Within Alabama, the closest population matches are Bay Minette (8,215 residents, $39,737 income); Atmore (8,389 residents, $33,104 income); Brook Highland (8,428 residents, $87,143 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Somers, WI (8,245 residents); Oak Hills, CA (8,246 residents); Denison, IA (8,247 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Orange Beach?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2202.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 3% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Is Orange Beach growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +665 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +8.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 468 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Orange Beach?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Orange Beach?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 37.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Matched public schools
2
Bachelor's degree+
37.7%
Poverty estimate
4.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Orange Beach?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 70.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
19.6%
Drive alone
70.9%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,338 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 4.5% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Alabama average
C+
City profile score · Orange Beach, AL
64/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
88.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share B
37.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B-
4.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B-
$89,034
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
357 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Orange Beach profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 90/100 (A+) · 88.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 71/100 (B) · 37.7%
Poverty rate: 69/100 (B-) · 4.5%
Household income: 68/100 (B-) · $89,034
Violent crime: 25/100 (F) · 357 /100k
Where Orange Beach sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Orange Beach's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Orange Beach highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Orange Beach, AL (this city): home $476,000, crime 2,202/100k
Denison, IA : home $137,600, crime 946/100k
Rhinelander, WI : home $123,300, crime 1,816/100k
Bay Minette, AL : home $146,500, crime 2,046/100k
Atmore, AL : home $128,900, crime 4,955/100k
Arab, AL : home $196,700, crime 3,806/100k
Guntersville, AL : home $293,500, crime 2,777/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Orange Beach compare to other US cities?
Orange Beach measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income70% higher than other cities
Home value83% pricier than other cities
Median rent1% pricier than other cities
Safety28% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Alabama alone, Orange Beach ranks #130 of 222 Alabama cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Orange Beach against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alabama only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alabama-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Orange Beach near the bottom of Alabama's cities
Among the 556 Alabama cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Orange Beach ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Orange Beach only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#52 of 530
90th percentile in Alabama
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Median Home Value
#8 of 517
98th percentile in Alabama
Poverty Rate
#434 of 556
22nd percentile in Alabama
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#44 of 556
92nd percentile in Alabama
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alabama only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
70th percentile nationally for median household income · 28th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Orange Beach's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Orange Beach's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Orange Beach's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$476,00017th percentilemore affordable than 17% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Orange Beach's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,375 of 15,516
More affordable than 14% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,036 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.3×, Orange Beach sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,375 of 15,516 and #10,036 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$89,034Orange Beach, AL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Orange Beach, AL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Orange Beach, AL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)37.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,244
Median Income
$89,034
Median Home Value
$476,000
Median Age
51.1
Poverty Rate
4.5%
Labor force participation
60.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
37.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2202.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
357.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1844.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Orange Beach's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,133 residents
2021
8,316 residents
2022
8,451 residents
2023
8,550 residents
2024
8,597 residents
2025
8,798 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
468
housing units authorized
Single-Family
200
detached homes
Multifamily
268
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
56.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
241
241
0
$57.5M
2020
363
363
0
$167.0M
2021
259
259
0
$82.3M
2022
136
136
0
$55.1M
2023
168
168
0
$66.4M
2024
468
200
268
$159.4M
Permit volume increased 94% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
70.9%
Carpool
8.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.9%
Work from Home
19.6%
Based on 4,338 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alabama statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $245
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alabama at $245 (electricity about $138 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alabama statewide averages, not a meter reading for Orange Beach. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alabama's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Orange Beach is $936/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alabama statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alabama statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Orange Beach sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Orange Beach compares to similar-size Alabama cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.