Best Places35223, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35223, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
35223 ranks 518th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 35223
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.
35223's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35223 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$180,412 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 35223 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35223
A household needs to earn about $216,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35223 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $180,412, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 35223's effective rate of 0.74%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 35223
35223 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 35223.
Who works in 35223, and how
Work in 35223 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 35223
35223 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 35223 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 35223, month by month
35223 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 35223
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35223
Schools across 35223 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Crestline Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Mountain Brook Elementary SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Cherokee Bend Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty Park Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Mountain Brook Junior High SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Homewood Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain Brook High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Vestavia Hills High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Homewood High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35223 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35223 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 35223 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 35223
Is 35223 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35223 ranks 518th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, what local pay buys, and health care access, 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 35223 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $834,747. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $180,412 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 35223 safe?
Yes, 35223 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
Compare 35223 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35223. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35223 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.
35223 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35223: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35223: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35223: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35223: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35223 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.