Best Places35210, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35210, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
35210 ranks 17,296th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Air quality pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in 35210
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.
35210's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35210 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 85% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 35210 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35210
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35210 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,636, 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 35210's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 35210
35210's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 35210.
Who works in 35210, and how
Work in 35210 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 35210
35210 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 35210 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 35210, month by month
35210 sees roughly 86 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 35210
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35210
Schools across 35210 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cherokee Bend Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Paine Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Liberty Park ElementaryA · 72% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty Park Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Mountain Brook Junior High SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Hewitttrussville Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain Brook High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Vestavia Hills High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Hewitttrussville High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35210 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35210 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 35210 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 35210
Is 35210 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35210 ranks 17,296th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, fast internet, and an educated workforce, and lowest on air quality and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 35210 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $287,080. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $80,636 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 35210 safe?
35210 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $512 per resident a year.
Compare 35210 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35210. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35210 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.
35210 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35210: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35210: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35210: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35210: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35210 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.