Otopeni in numbers: what to know before you move here

When someone asks me “why Otopeni?”, my first instinct is to answer with what I see every day: families coming out of Bucharest for a garden and some quiet, without giving up the city. The numbers, though, tell the story better than I do. I have gathered them here, with sources, so you have them to hand when you make a decision.

A village more than 440 years old

Otopeni is first recorded in 1582, in a charter of Mihnea Vodă. According to the historian Constantin C. Giurescu, the name comes from “Hodopeni” or “Hodoba”. Today’s town includes Otopeni itself and the village of Odăile, and it only received town status in 2000 — until then it was a commune. That explains why, a few hundred metres apart, you find both old houses on large plots and new developments of terraced villas.

Population: +57% in ten years

At the 2011 census, Otopeni had 13,861 inhabitants. At the 2021 census, 21,750. Growth of almost eight thousand people in a decade is, in percentage terms, among the highest around the capital — and you can see it in the traffic, in the schools and, yes, in the prices. For a seller it means real demand, not speculative demand. For a buyer it means that “I’ll wait for prices to fall” has been, over the past ten years, an expensive strategy.

What Otopeni has that almost no other place in Ilfov does

• Henri Coandă International Airport — the country’s largest airport sits within the town. For some people that is an advantage (flights ten minutes away, jobs), for others it is something to check: the flight path matters when you choose an area. I will tell you honestly, house by house, how things stand.
• DN1 — the Bucharest–Ploiești trunk road runs through the town. Fast access, but also the metro works, which are making traffic heavier at the moment.
• The “Ana Aslan” National Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics — an institution with an international reputation, right here in town.
• The “Ion Manu” Cultural Centre (since 1999) — local cultural life is not just on paper.

The metro that redraws the map

Metro line M6 (1 Mai – Airport) is under construction. The official completion date is the end of 2028, with officials estimating it will open in 2029. I have written separately about what M6 means for anyone selling or buying now.

What I do with these numbers

I use them to calibrate expectations. A seller who knows the town has grown by 57% does not accept the first offer out of reflex — but neither do they ask a price the market will not support. A buyer who understands why people come here chooses their area according to their own reason, not according to a developer’s advertising.

Would you like to know what your property is worth in this context? I will answer within 24 working hours, with no obligation.

Sources

• Wikipedia, the article “Otopeni” — first record, composition, status, the 2011 and 2021 censuses: ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otopeni
• Rador, 31.01.2026 — “Metro line M6 will be ready in 2029”: rador.ro