Metro area · Alabama

Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metro area

Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL is a metropolitan area of 1 county in Alabama, home to 267,761 residents. Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metro area has a quality-of-life score of 67 out of 100 (high), ranking #305 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Alabama it ranks #2 of 24. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), unemployment rate (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on average commute time (high), mental health providers (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

67High
Quality-of-life score
#305 of 925 metro and micro areas
Alabama
#2 of 24 in AL
Population
267,761 (2025)
Land area
1,590 mi²
Density
168.4 /mi²
CBSA code
19300

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety68#292/924
  • Economy89#101/925
  • Housing63#345/925
  • Health70#281/925
  • Healthcare31#637/923
  • Environment48#474/917
  • Education71#270/925
  • Infrastructure57#395/925
  • Community35#601/925
  • Leisure & amenities79#191/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Metro and micro areas like Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Baldwin CountyCentral county62267,761

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. DaphnePrincipal city29,453
  2. FairhopePrincipal city24,190
  3. FoleyPrincipal city24,026
  4. Gulf ShoresPrincipal city16,401

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Daphne29,453
  2. Fairhope24,190
  3. Foley24,026
  4. Gulf Shores16,401
  5. Spanish Fort10,662
  6. Orange Beach8,407
  7. Bay Minette8,295
  8. Robertsdale7,194
  9. Loxley4,357
  10. Stapleton3,009
  11. Bon Secour2,789
  12. Elberta2,293
  13. Summerdale1,593
  14. Point Clear1,511
  15. Lillian1,460
  16. Magnolia Springs1,130
  17. Silverhill863
  18. Perdido676
  19. Perdido Beach642
  20. Stockton356

Other metro and micro areas in Alabama

Areas based in Alabama, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M19300