Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Spanning roughly 4.1 square miles, it is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. Opa-locka was founded in 1926 by American aviator and industrialist Glenn Curtiss, who was inspired by the Middle Eastern folk tales of the One Thousand and One Nights.