Best Places35603, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35603, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
35603 ranks 8,285th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 35603
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.
35603's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35603 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$639 a month, better than 81% of zip codes
Where 35603 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- School gradeC, better than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35603
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35603 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $87,400, 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 35603's effective rate of 0.30%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 35603
35603 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 35603.
Who works in 35603, and how
Work in 35603 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 35603
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 35603.
What the weather is like in 35603, month by month
35603 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 35603
The nearest airport, Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35603
Schools across 35603 average a C, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fe Burleson Elementary SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Priceville Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Walter Jackson Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hartselle Junior High SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Priceville Junior High SchoolB · 44% proficient
- East Lawrence Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Hartselle High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Priceville High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Decatur High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35603 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35603 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 35603 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 35603 suits
Families
Schools land around the 30th percentile and crime safety beats 80%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 35603
Is 35603 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35603 ranks 8,285th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, state infrastructure, and what local pay buys, and lowest on taxes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 35603 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,278. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $87,400 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 35603 safe?
Yes, 35603 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $220 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 35603?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 34. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of zip codes.
Is 35603 good for families?
Schools beat 30% of zip codes, crime safety beats 80%, and childcare runs $639 a month.
Compare 35603 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35603. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35603 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.
35603 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35603: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35603: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35603: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35603: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35603 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.