Best Places35801, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35801, 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.
35801 ranks 2,783rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 35801
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.
35801's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35801 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 35801 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35801
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35801 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $117,198, 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 35801's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 35801
35801 runs older than the country, 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 35801.
Who works in 35801, and how
Work in 35801 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 35801
35801 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 35801 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 35801, month by month
35801 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 43° | 35° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 35801
The nearest airport, Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35801
Schools across 35801 average a C+, better than 45% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Monte Sano Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Jones Valley Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Blossomwood Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Academy For Science Foreign Language Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Huntsville Junior High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Whitesburg Middle SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Huntsville High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Virgil Grissom High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Madison County High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35801 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35801 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 35801 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 35801 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 35801
Is 35801 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35801 ranks 2,783rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, what local pay buys, and short commutes, and lowest on noise and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 35801 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $459,169. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $117,198 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 35801 safe?
35801 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 35801?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 35. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 24% of zip codes.
Is 35801 good for families?
Schools beat 45% of zip codes, crime safety beats 41%, and childcare runs $639 a month.
Compare 35801 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35801. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35801 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.
35801 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35801: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35801: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35801: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35801: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35801 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.