Best Places35062, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35062, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
35062 ranks 20,885th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 35062
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
35062's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35062 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 35062 ranks low
- Short commute34.1 minutes each way, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35062
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35062 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,994, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 35062's effective rate of 0.31%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 35062
35062 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 35062.
Who works in 35062, and how
Work in 35062 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 35062
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 35062.
What the weather is like in 35062, month by month
35062 sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 79° | 67° | 57° |
Flying in and out of 35062
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 149 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35062
Schools across 35062 average a C−, better than 23% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bagley Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- West Jefferson Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Sumiton Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Corner Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Bragg Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Sumiton Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Corner High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Dora High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35062 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35062 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 35062 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 35062
Is 35062 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35062 ranks 20,885th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low property taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 35062 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $167,681. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $76,994 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 35062 safe?
35062 is safer than 42% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $324 per resident a year.
Compare 35062 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35062. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35062 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
35062 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35062: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35062: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35062: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35062: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35062 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.