Welcome to Gulf Shores ...
The coastal city of Gulf Shores is located in Baldwin County<1>.
The location of Gulf Shores has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Gulf Shores, you might consider that their post office opened in 1947.
A typical abbreviation for Gulf Shores: Gulf Shrs.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Gulf Shores has a population of 12,766 people<3> (see below for details).
Gulf Shores is near sea level<4>.
Time Zone: Gulf Shores lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Gulf Shores lies within the (251) area code.
The ZIP codes for Gulf Shores: 36542, 36547<5>
Websites for Gulf Shores ...
Official Website: www.ci.gulf-shores.al.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.alagulfcoastchamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Gulf Shores had an population of 12,766 people. This is an increase of 31.05% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 153.09% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Gulf Shores had a population of 9,741 people (or 5.34% of the total population of Baldwin County). This makes Gulf Shores the county's 4th most populous community.
The population of Gulf Shores represents 0.2% of the total population of Alabama (which has 4,779,736 people), making it the state's 64th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 9,741 people, the population of Gulf Shores increased 93.12% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 5,044 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Gulf Shores.
Communities Also Named Gulf Shores ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Gulf Shores - it's located in Florida.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Gulf Shores.
Communities near Gulf Shores ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Gulf Shores.
- Foley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foley
- Foley is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,446 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Foley <6>
- Robertsdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robertsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsdale
- Robertsdale is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,030 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Robertsdale <6>
- Orange Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Beach
- Orange Beach is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,343 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange Beach <6>
- Summerdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerdale
- Summerdale is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,792 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerdale <6>
- Elberta
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elberta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elberta
- Elberta is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,753 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elberta <6>
- Silverhill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverhill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverhill
- Silverhill is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,285 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverhill <6>
- Magnolia Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Springs
- Magnolia Springs is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magnolia Springs <6>
- Perdido Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdido Beach
- Perdido Beach is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
- Gasque
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gasque have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gasque
- Gasque is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gasque <6>
- Yupon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yupon
- Yupon is located in Baldwin County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Gulf Shores. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Gulf Shores.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Gulf Shores. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gulf Shores.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Gulf Shores. See our Newspapers Page for Gulf Shores.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Gulf Shores ...
Looking for more information about Gulf Shores? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Gulf Shores, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Gulf Shores.
Adding Gulf Shores to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Gulf Shores in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Gulf Shores was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Gulf Shores post office opened in 1947.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Gulf Shores.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Gulf Shores: www.ci.gulf-shores.al.us/
The official website for Baldwin County: www.co.baldwin.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Baldwin, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Gulf Shores. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Gulf Shores - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Gulf Shores). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Gulf Shores or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |