Talladega is approximately 50 miles (80 km) east of one of the state's largest cities, Birmingham.

It comes from the word Tvlvtēke, from Muscogee tvlwv, meaning "town", and vtēke, meaning "border", indicating its location on the border between Muscogee and Natchez.

AL-77 runs through the downtown area from north to south, leading north 14 mi (23 km) to Lincoln along Interstate 20 and southeast 24 mi (39 km) to Ashland.

AL-275 runs to the north and west of the city as a bypass of the downtown area.

[10] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

They were compiled over the time period from 1888 to when this chart was created (July 2018).

There were 6,457 housing units at an average density of 270.5 per square mile (104.4/km2).

There were 6,611 housing units at an average density of 275.5 per square mile (106.4/km2).

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,861 people, 5,553 households, and 3,334 families residing in the city.

Talladega includes a number of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the J. L. M. Curry House and Swayne Hall, both listed as National Historic Landmarks.

[19] Also included is the Talladega Superspeedway, which is a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) long race track.

In 2020, the Dr. William R. Harvey Museum of Art opened at Talladega College.