Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Opelika, AL Crime Grade
How Opelika grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of Alabama — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
9/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
Alabama
7/10
vs. Alabama cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Opelika, AL was 454.7 per 100,000 residents (164 incidents over a population of 36,066). That puts Opelika Infinity% above the U.S. rate of 0.0 and 30% above the Alabama statewide rate of 350.8.
That ranks Opelika #3,185 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 16% of them, and #44 of 63 in Alabama. Violent crime is down 21% year over year and down 38% over the last five years.
Opelika, AL crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- F (9/10)
- Alabama Grade
- C (7/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 454.7 / 100k
- National rank
- #3,185 of 3,771
- AL rank
- #44 of 63
- Safer than
- 16% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 21%
- 5-year change
- down 38%
- Population
- 36,066
- Reporting agency
- Opelika Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Opelika Police Department (FBI ORI AL0430200) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
About Opelika, AL
Also known as
- Big Swamp
- Owls Roost
- Opelikan
- Opillaka
History
Opelika is a Creek Indian word meaning "large lake" or "big swamp". A post office was established in 1840. (US-T873/p6) Current name adopted in 1850. Incorporated in 1854. Became the county seat of Lee County in 1866.
Name history sourced from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) — public-domain federal geographic-names data.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Opelika (red), Alabama (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Opelika vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 736.3(233) | 877.9(281) | 697.7(235) | 577.7(199) | 454.7(164) |
| Murder | 9.5(3) | 21.9(7) | 8.9(3) | 11.6(4) | 13.9(5) |
| Rape | 66.4(21) | 78.1(25) | 92.0(31) | 55.2(19) | 69.3(25) |
| Robbery | 53.7(17) | 59.4(19) | 68.3(23) | 55.2(19) | 41.6(15) |
| Aggravated assault | 606.8(192) | 718.5(230) | 528.5(178) | 455.8(157) | 330.0(119) |
| Property crime | 3005.3(951) | 2796.0(895) | 2835.4(955) | 2647.5(912) | 1988.0(717) |
| Burglary | 312.9(99) | 281.2(90) | 234.6(79) | 206.1(71) | 238.5(86) |
| Larceny | 2408.0(762) | 2277.4(729) | 2357.4(794) | 2235.3(770) | 1594.3(575) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 274.9(87) | 221.8(71) | 240.5(81) | 200.3(69) | 149.7(54) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Opelika, AL Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Opelika Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Opelika calculated?
- Opelika's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the Alabama state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to Alabama cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Opelika Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in Alabama
Comparable Alabama cities by population.
Compare Opelika to other places
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