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Welcome to Opelika ...

The city of Opelika is located in Lee County<1> and is the County Seat for Lee County.


The location of Opelika has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>


The pronunciation of Opelika: oh-peh-like-uh<3>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Opelika, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1850.

When the people of Opelika refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Opelikian<4>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Opelika has a population of 30,922 people<5> (see below for details).

Opelika is 750 feet [229 m] above sea level.<6>.

Time Zone: Opelika lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you travel east from Opelika (for example, toward Mountain Hill (GA)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

Opelika is located in the (334) area code.

The ZIP codes for Opelika: 36801-36804<7>

Websites for Opelika ...

Official Website:   www.opelika.org/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.opelika.com/

Junior League:   www.leecountyjuniorleague.com/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Opelika had an population of 30,922 people. This is an increase of 16.79% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 31.59% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Opelika had a population of 26,477 people (or 18.88% of the total population of Lee County). This makes Opelika the county's 2nd most populous community.

The population of Opelika represents 0.55% of the total population of Alabama (which has 4,779,736 people), making it the state's 19th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 26,477 people, the population of Opelika increased 12.68% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 23,498 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Opelika.

Communities Also Named Opelika ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Opelika - it's located in Texas.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Opelika.

Communities near Opelika ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Opelika.

  • Auburn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Auburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Auburn is located in Lee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,343 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Auburn <8>
  • Valley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley
    • Valley is located in Chambers County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,077 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valley <8>
  • Lanett
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Smith's Station
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smith's Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith's Station
    • Smith's Station is located in Lee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,804 people
  • West Point
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • LaFayette
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Camp Hill
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Hill
    • Camp Hill is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camp Hill <8>
  • Notasulga
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Notasulga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Notasulga
    • Notasulga is located in Macon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 817 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Notasulga <8>
  • Loachapoka
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Waverly
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waverly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Waverly is located in Chambers County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Opelika. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Opelika.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Opelika. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Opelika.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Opelika. Our list includes 40 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Opelika.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Opelika ...

Looking for more information about Opelika? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Opelika, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Opelika.

Adding Opelika to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Opelika in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Opelika was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

From that list, the Opelika post office opened in 1850.

We also found Opelika in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Opelika.

The official website for Opelika: www.opelika.org/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Lee, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Opelika. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<4>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Opelika refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Opelika may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<5>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Opelika.
<6>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Opelika - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<7>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Opelika). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Opelika or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Opelika includes: 36801, 36802, 36803 & 36804.
<8>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<9>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 09 Mar 2024