Orange Beach is a somewhat small coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Alabama. With a population of 8,447 people and four associated neighborhoods, Orange Beach is the 86th largest community in Alabama. Orange Beach has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Orange Beach, where the median household income is $90,402.00. Orange Beach home prices are not only among the most expensive in Alabama, but Orange Beach real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Orange Beach is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Orange Beach is a city of sales and office workers, managers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Orange Beach who work in sales jobs (20.50%), management occupations (15.72%), and office and administrative support (7.82%). One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 18.03% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Another notable thing is that Orange Beach is a major vacation destination. Much of the city’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Orange Beach’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live. The city is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Orange Beach has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Orange Beach a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here. One of the nice things about Orange Beach is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. Being a small city, Orange Beach does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.The population of Orange Beach is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 39.51% of adults in Orange Beach have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Orange Beach in 2022 was $55,485, which is wealthy relative to Alabama and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $221,940 for a family of four. The people who call Orange Beach home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Orange Beach residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Orange Beach include Irish, English, German, French, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Orange Beach is English. Other important languages spoken here include Slavic languages and Spanish.
