Opelika, AL: how dark is the sky here?

Opelika's sky measures suburban edge here. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Only 15.7% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Opelika.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

The nearest darker sky to Opelika

Phenix City, AL, about 25 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Opelika. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Phenix City, AL is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Opelika compares nationally

Opelika, AL counts roughly 35,005 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Opelika places 501 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.