Community Profile: Opelika, Alabama

Community Profile Subjects

General Information

Location

Population & Income

Climate

Education

Government

Transportation

Utilities

Communications

Medical Facilities

Community Facilities

Recreational Facilities

Local Taxes

Area Industry

Largest Employers

County Labor Analysis

An Opelika Area Map

Local Contact

An Opelika Web Site

General Information

CommunityOpelika
CountyLee
StateAlabama
MSA Auburn-Opelika
Incorporated Yes
Foreign Trade Zone No
Enterprise Zone No

Location

Area of State: EastCentral
Latitude:32:30:00Longitude:85:30:00

Distance From:
Atlanta:100Birmingham:110
Huntsville: 206Mobile:240
Memphis: 380Nashville:319
Montgomery: 65Tampa:439
New Orleans:415Jacksonville 326
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Population and Income

Year: 2001Current Year2000 Census1990 Census
City: 2371223498 22122
County: 117198 115092 87146
MSA: Auburn-Opelika103538
Estimated
present population
(30 mi. radius)
:
385678
Households in county: 44062
Income:
Per Capita:$ 16799
Average Household:$ 46823
Median Household:$ 33942
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Climate

Mean Temperature (Fahr.): AnnualJanuaryJuly
62 _ 43_ 79_
Avg. Annual Precipitation: 58 inches
Altitude: 828 ft. above MSL
Prevailing winds: 6 MPH
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Education

School system: Opelika City Schools
For school year: 2000-2001
No.TeachersStudents
Elementary: 6 155 2177
Middle/Junior: 1 71 1108
High school: 1 88 1240
Vocational Tech:
Private/parochial: 3 50 675
Total HS Graduates/yr: 260
Enrollment: 4518
Spending Per Pupil:$5843.64
Nearest Post-secondary education:
Vocational tech:
Location:
Miles From City:
Custom curriculum:
Two-year college: Southern Union St Comm. College
Location: Opelika, AL
Miles From City:
University: Auburn University
Location: Auburn, AL
Miles From City: 5
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Government

CityCounty
Type of Government: Mayor/City Council County Commission
Land Use Regulations

Zoning Ordinances:

Yes

Subdivision regulations
with design standards:

Yes

Planning commissions:

Yes
Garbage Collection: Yes
Public Library: Yes

No of volumes:

50000
Fire Protection

Full time personnel:

69

Volunteers:

  150

Fire Insurance Rating:

2

Fire Protection for
industry outside city limits:

Yes
Police/Sheriff

Full time personnel:

82 28

Patrol Cars:

25

Police Patrol for
industry outside city limits:

Yes
Emergency Medical Service

Paramedics:

Yes

911 or E911:

Yes
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Transportation

Highways Serving Community
Interstate Federal State
HighwayMiles toHighway Miles toHighwayMiles to
85 0 280 0 169 0
75 120 29 0 51 0
65 55 431 0
Railroad Service: Norfolk Southern
CSX Transportation
Piggyback Service:
Intermodal Facilities: No
Waterways
Chattahoochee River Miles to River:
Navigable: YesChannel Depth: 9 feet
Nearest Port Facility: 30 miles
Air service
Municipal Service: Auburn-Opelika
Longest runway: 4000 feet
Surface: AsphaltLighted: Yes
Aircraft Tiedown: YesILS: Yes
Hangars: YesRepair facilities: Yes
Nearest commercial service: Columbus, GADistance: 30 mi.
Major carriers
Atlantic Southwest Northwest
US Airways Express  
No. of daily commercial flights: 12
Motor Freight
Service AreaTotal carriers: 30
48 states: 5
Southeast only: 14
Alabama only: 5
Carriers with
local terminals:
10
Less than truckload? Yes
Bus service: Greyhound & Trailways
Parcel Service: UPS, Federal Express, Airborne
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Utilities

SuppliersDistributors
Electricity
Alabama Municipal Electric AuthorityOpelika Light & Power
Natural Gas
Alabama Gas Corp. Alabama Gas Corp.
Water
City of Opelika
Capacity: 13 MGD
Avg. Daily Consumption: 4.5 MGD
Peak Consumption: 6.1 MGD
Storage Capacity: 8.03 MGD
Source: Lake, River
Type: River
Planned facilities: Filter plants are easily expandable
Sanitation
City of Opelika
Sewage treatment plant type:
Capacity: 4.1 MGD
Present load: 68%
Sanitary sewer coverage: 75%
Sewer use charge? Yes
Storm sewer coverage: 75%
Solid waste disposal:
Planned facilities:
Fuel oil: Locally
Coal: Locally
LP Gas: Locally
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Communications

Local telephone provider: Bell South
Switching: AnalogFiber optics: Yes
Long distance provider: AT&T, MCI, Sprint
Mobile Service: Yes
Post office classification: First
NewspapersDaily 1 Weekly
Opelika-Auburn News
Radio Stations:AM2 FM 2
Television stations:Local: 8
Cable service: YesChannels: 34
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Medical Facilities

No.Beds
Hospitals: 1 352
Clinics:
Physicians: 132
Dentists: 18
Nearest regional
medical facility:
East Alabama Medical Center
Distance: 0 miles
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Community Facilities

No.Rooms
Hotels
Motels 10 650
Restaurants: 30Meeting rooms:Yes
Auditorium: YesSeating capacity/largest 1200
Churches & synagogues
Protestant 65
Catholic 2
Jewish2
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Recreational Facilities

Country clubs? YesGolf courses?Yes
Movie theatres?YesTennis courts?Yes
Ball fields?YesSwimming pools?Yes
Health clubs?YesParks?Yes
Skating rinks?YesAmateur theatres?Yes
Other facilities:
8-Playgrounds
Nearest State Park: Chewacla State ParkDistance: 10 miles
Nearest Public Lake: Lake Harding/Lee CoDistance: 10 miles

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Local Taxes

Manufacturers' Real Property
Tax year 1999Rate/$1,000Assess. ratio Effective rate
In city Out city
City:$29.0020%$ 5.80
Local Hospital:$2.5020% $ 0.50
Local Dependent Children:$1.5020% $ 0.30
County:$14.5020%$ 2.90$ 2.90
State:$ 6.5020%$ 1.30 $ 1.30
Total:$ 54.00$ 10.80$ 7.60
Above figures include 23.00 mills for schools State Ad Val Tax Amount
Effective rate for county may differ outside city limits
Tax General RateSales(Out of City) Use (Out of City)Machinery (Out of City)
City: 2.5% 2.5%1.375%
County: 1.0% (3%)1.0% (3%) 0.25% (1%)
State: 4.0% 4.0% 1.5%
County tax may vary within city limits
Income/occupational tax
City occupational: 1.5%
County occupational: 0.0%
State corporate: 5.0%
State individual*: 2.0% Minimum
5.0% Maximum
*Deduction allowed for Federal Income Tax
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Area Industry & Employers

Number of manufacturers:122
Total manufacturing employment:6,902
Largest Employers in County
FirmProduct/Service Employment
Auburn University School 5100
East Alabama Medical Center Hospital 1750
Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Company Tires 1410
State of Alabama Government-State 1176
Lee County School System Government-Education 1038
West Point Stevens Textiles 880
Wal-Mart Distribution CenterDiscount Retailer 700
Opelika City Schools Government-Education 600
Winn Dixie (4 area storesGrocery 591
Wal-Mart Supercenter (Auburn)Discount Retailer580
Auburn City School System Government-Education 553
Quantegy Corporation500
Briggs and Stratton Gasoline Engines 480
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County Labor Analysis (2000)

Labor Force Total: 50030
Labor Force ParticipationMale: 53.7%
Female: 46.3%Minority: 23.5%
Employment: 48370
Unemployment:1660
Unemployment rate: 3.3%
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Local Contact

Chad Newell
Director, Economic Development
City of Opelika
P. O. Box 390
Opelika, AL 36803-2366
Phone: (334) 705-5115
Fax: (334) 705-5113
Email: cnewell@ci.opelika.al.us
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