Best Places35211, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35211, 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.
35211 ranks 32,259th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 35211
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.
35211's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35211 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 35211 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Household income$40,548 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35211
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35211 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,548, 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 35211's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 35211
35211 runs younger than the country, 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 35211.
Who works in 35211, and how
Work in 35211 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 35211
35211 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 35211 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 35211, month by month
35211 sees roughly 85 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 35211
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35211
Schools across 35211 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Edgewood Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Bluff Park Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Hall Kent Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pizitz Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Homewood Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Ira F Simmons Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Homewood High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Shades Valley High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Ramsay High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35211 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35211 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 35211 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 35211 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 35211
Is 35211 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35211 ranks 32,259th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, low property taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the schools and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 35211 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,300. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $40,548 median income, cost of living beats 8% of zip codes.
Is 35211 safe?
35211 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $933 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 35211?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 37. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 50% of zip codes.
Is 35211 good for families?
Schools beat 1% of zip codes, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $702 a month.
Compare 35211 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35211. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35211 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.
35211 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35211: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35211: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35211: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35211: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35211 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.