Best Places35243, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35243, 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.
35243 ranks 1,778th 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 35243
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.
35243's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35243 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 35243 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35243
A household needs to earn about $147,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35243 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,749, 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 35243's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 35243
35243'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 35243.
Who works in 35243, and how
Work in 35243 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 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 35243
35243 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 35243 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 35243, month by month
35243 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 35243
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35243
Schools across 35243 average an A−, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mountain Brook Elementary SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- East ElementaryA+ · 79% proficient
- Brookwood Forest Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pizitz Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Liberty Park Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Mountain Brook Junior High SchoolA+ · 71% 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 35243 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35243 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 35243 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 35243 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 35243
Is 35243 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35243 ranks 1,778th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, what local pay buys, and civic engagement, 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 35243 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $566,268. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $125,749 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 35243 safe?
35243 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $314 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 35243?
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 35243 good for families?
Schools beat 92% of zip codes, crime safety beats 50%, and childcare runs $702 a month.
Compare 35243 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35243. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35243 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.
35243 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35243: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35243: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35243: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35243: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35243 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.