Foley fastest growing city in Alabama for 2nd straight year

Foley fastest growing city in Alabama for 2nd straight year

By Fran Thompson

U.S. Census population estimates released earlier this month determined that Foley was Alabama’s fastest growing city with at least 10,00 residents for the second consecutive year. According to the Census, Foley added 2,200 people in 2025 for a growth rate of almost 8 percent. The city of 28,000 has gained more than 7,000 residents since 2020.
The Huntsville suburb of Madison added the most number of people, and its growth rate of 6.5 percent was the second most in the state.
The Huntsville metro area ranked No. 6 and the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metro area 11th on the census list for population growth in 2025. Athens, another city within the greater Huntsville metro, was third on Alabama’s fastest-growing list with a 4.8 percent population growth.
“This once-quiet Alabama coast town was long called a ‘drive-through’ city. Not anymore’’ was the headline on a Martha Sanchez feature story in the April 19 New Orleans Times Picayune about Foley’s transformation from a small town to one of the fastest growing cities in the entire nation.
Sanchez noted that is the Forward City is the seventh-fastest-growing city in the country with a population that expanded 12% in 2024.
The build out has already begun at Cresswind at Sandy Creek, which will feature over 1,300 single-family, ranch-style homes with resort-style amenities on a 750-acre located just off the Foley Beach Expressway and Fern St.
The gated, golf-cart-friendly 55—plus community will open in late 2027. It will include 30 pickleball courts, a resort-style pool with lap lanes, tennis courts, a dog park, a community garden and a full-time lifestyles director.
Foley approved a temporary pause on residential subdivisions, multi-family housing, RV parks, mobile home parks, and rezoning requests that would increase residential density in March of 2205 so it could focus on refining its zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, and other land development policies. The moratorium was lifted in January of this year.
“We recognize that Foley’s success and attractiveness as a place to live have brought substantial residential development, but this growth must be balanced with our ability to protect the character of our community,” said Mayor Ralph Hellmich at the time. “This ordinance is a necessary step to give us time to update our plans and policies in a thoughtful, strategic way.”
That directive was in support of the City’s 2025–2030 Strategic Plan, which states: “We will manage and keep pace with our growth with well thought out plans and a regulatory framework that is fair, predictable, sustainable, and consistently applied to create and maintain a high-quality built environment.”
The strategic plan also includes initiatives to review and modernize land development regulations to ensure that future growth occurs in appropriate locations and meets high standards.
Pictured: Downtown Foley in the very early 1900’s. The city is named after John B. Foley of Chicago. In 1902 he bought 50,000 acres and became instrumental in the development of rail service from L&N Railroad three years later.