Best Places35228, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35228, 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.
35228 ranks 32,264th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The schools pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in 35228
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.
35228's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35228 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 35228 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 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35228
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35228 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,742, 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 35228's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 35228
35228's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 35228.
Who works in 35228, and how
Work in 35228 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 35228
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 35228.
What the weather is like in 35228, month by month
35228 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 46° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 35228
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35228
Schools across 35228 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pleasant Grove Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
- Lipscomb Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
- Robinson Primary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mcadory Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Bessemer City Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
- Rutledge SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top high schools
- Mcadory High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Pleasant Grove High SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Fairfield High Preparatory SchoolF · 6% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35228 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35228 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 35228 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 35228
Is 35228 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35228 ranks 32,264th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, transit, and cell coverage, 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 35228 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $99,324. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $51,742 median income, cost of living beats 26% of zip codes.
Is 35228 safe?
35228 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $767 per resident a year.
Compare 35228 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35228. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35228 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.
35228 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35228: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35228: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35228: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35228: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35228 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.