Alabama’s two college towns, Auburn and Tuscaloosa, are both growing.

And, like the colleges themselves, they’re growing fast.

Tuscaloosa is the 24th fastest growing city in Alabama with 114,288 residents, a 13% increase from 2020 to 2024, AL.com found, using U.S. Census data.

Auburn ranks at No. 42, with 83,757 residents, a 9% increase from 2020. Opelika is the 26th fastest growing city in Alabama with a 12.9% increase.

“People want to be part of those type of communities,” Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said.

AL.com looked at undergraduate enrollment trends from 2019 to 2024.

Auburn University enrollment has increased 12.1% since 2019, according to college data. The University of Alabama grew 7.2% in the same time period, and enrolled more than 40,000 students for the first time in 2024.

How fast is Tuscaloosa growing?

These days, traffic in Tuscaloosa can be busy even in summer months, and shops and restaurants are bustling even after students depart.

Lorrie Lane, an artist with a studio in downtown Tuscaloosa, said her neighborhood off Rice Mine Road has 300 homes in development with plans to add hundreds more. Her downtown studio has new neighbors, including retail shops and two hotels.

“Old, vacant buildings have been turned into new uses,” Lane said. “Downtown parking can be challenging.”

Maddox told AL.com Tuscaloosa’s recent growth can be attributed to research and development at the University of Alabama, including the engineering college’s Cyber Security lab and the addition of NOAA’s National Water Center at the Alabama Water Institute on campus.

He also cited Mercedes Benz’s recent recent announcement of a new vehicle being manufactured at the plant in east Tuscaloosa County.

“Mercedes is certainly a pillar of our economic community, but the University of Alabama is the sun of our economic solar system,” he said.

Maddox attributed the university’s success to former head football coach Nick Saban, former Sen. Richard Shelby and former UA System Chancellor Bob Witt. Saban remains active in the city, including through the construction of the Saban Center, a $120 million STEM and arts facility opening in 2027. Similar projects show that Tuscaloosa can pull off partnerships and support a technology-driven future, he said.

How fast is Auburn growing?

Auburn enjoys having a “small town feel,” according to David Dorton, the city’s communications director. He also cited local and regional surveys that praised the city’s safety.

“Our focus, given the reality of growth, is to maintain infrastructure and city services at a high level which in turn generates the quality of life our citizens expect,” Dorton said. “There’s also just that intangible sense that we live in a community that’s greater than the sum of its parts.”

Opelika, Auburn’s neighbor to the east, beats Northport, located north of Tuscaloosa, in population growth. Northport has grown less than one percent since 2020, with a population of 31,492. Opelika has crossed the 35,000-population mark.

Opelika’s growth is a continuing trend that’s countywide. Lee County was one of the state’s fastest growing counties back in 2018.