Best Places35242, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35242, 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.
35242 ranks 1,522nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 35242
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.
35242's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35242 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Household income$134,863 median, better than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 35242 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 41% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 48% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35242
A household needs to earn about $130,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35242 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $134,863, 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 35242's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 35242
35242 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 35242.
Who works in 35242, and how
Work in 35242 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 35242
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 35242.
What the weather is like in 35242, month by month
35242 sees roughly 87 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 35242
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 131 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35242
Schools across 35242 average an A−, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mt Laurel Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Liberty Park ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Greystone Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty Park Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Oak Mountain Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Berry Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain Brook High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Vestavia Hills High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Oak Mountain High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35242 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35242 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 35242 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 35242 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 35242
Is 35242 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35242 ranks 1,522nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, an educated workforce, and health care access, and lowest on taxes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 35242 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $519,089. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $134,863 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 35242 safe?
Yes, 35242 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $255 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 35242?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 37. That works out to about 87 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of zip codes.
Is 35242 good for families?
Schools beat 84% of zip codes, crime safety beats 65%, and childcare runs $704 a month.
Compare 35242 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35242. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35242 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.
35242 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35242: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35242: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35242: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35242: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35242 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.